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A Strategic Shiraz Reserve + Tweets of the Week
Biden should purchase goods that China targets, establish a mutual trade defense pact to punish China for such behavior, and visit Australia in his first trip abroad.
This article below first appeared in Foreign Policy. I co-authored it with Yun Jiang, a former Australian government official and the editor of the China Story blog. We recorded a great ChinaTalk podcast episode together last week entitled ‘The Blunder Down Under? How China-Australia Relations Fell Off a Cliff’ takes a deep dive into how the relationship devolved over the past decade.
The United States needs a Strategic Shiraz Reserve
China has been using its economic weight to bully middle powers without consequence, and the United States needs to consider radical departures from its usually staid trade policy to support allies in the face of Chinese aggression.
Upset over Australia’s call from early this year for an independent inquiry into the origin of the novel coronavirus, and its policies on Hong Kong and Xinjiang, China has targeted Australian exports with a vengeance. Its measures have hit a range of products, from beef and barley to wine and lobster. If China’s antics continue, their moves could snowball into devastation for the Australian economy after three decades of unprecedented growth, as China buys 34 percent of its total exports.
The White House announced it would be serving Aussie wine at a holiday party, but much more is needed to ensure that the United States has its closest allies’ backs. In a recent New York Times interview, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden said that “the best China strategy … gets every one of our … allies on the same page.” Responding forcefully to Beijing’s bullying one of Washington’s closest allies should be a top priority in the first weeks of a Biden administration.
So what should the United States do?
Yes, the United States needs to show up at the World Trade Organization in support of Australia’s complaint against China’s most recent actions, use WTO’s formal review of China’s trade policies coming up in July 2021 to make a real stink, and consider joining a modified Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (the successor to the Trans-Pacific Partnership).
But American policymakers should think bigger than these routine moves which the Bush and Obama administrations contented themselves with to chastise China for its trade violations. The United States has allowed such allies as Japan, South Korea, and Canada to suffer from China’s trade bullying for years, with little but rhetorical support coming from Washington. The two to three years it takes for the WTO to respond to clear-cut cases of Chinese malfeasance is too slow and, ultimately, all that the WTO can offer is its blessing to snap back with retaliatory measures. The current WTO system does not pack remotely enough punch to deter Beijing or even attempt to make impacted countries whole.
China clearly sees the use of economic coercion as a central part of its foreign-policy toolkit, but U.S. allies should not fear that stances on Xinjiang, Hong Kong, or the South China Sea will cost them economically.
To change the state of play, the United States should consider supporting allies’ domestic industries impacted by Chinese actions, as Washington does when its own producers get hit.
The most creative idea comes from the economics writer Matt Klein, who has proposed a “Strategic Shiraz Reserve.” Under his idea, the government could create a special purpose vehicle to buy and hold foreign commodities that lose sales thanks to aggressive Chinese trade action, financed either directly by congressional appropriations or Federal Reserve borrowing if one is worried about budget scoring. The U.S. government, after all, already has experience managing reserves of oil, cheese, and even mohair. The money wouldn’t be thrown away, as at some point the United States could start selling back these nonperishable commodities onto the world market, perhaps even at a profit.
A whole ‘wine-dark sea’ of strategic reserve might be excessive, but I wouldn’t complain!
While economists may be concerned with quality issues given the guaranteed market for products, sommeliers hit hard by pandemic troubles in the hospitality industry would be only too happy to support Uncle Sam’s efforts to stock up. And even if the United States doesn’t completely fill the gap China’s import restrictions open up, the symbolic impact of such a policy would be far more impactful on the psychology of U.S. allies than a marginal naval vessel docked overseas.
While policies like a Strategic Shiraz Reserve would blunt the economic impact of China’s actions, China should also be forced to pay a price for such behavior.
The United States already has mutual defense treaties with the likes of Australia and Japan—perhaps it could consider a mutual trade defense one as well?
The U.S. government could organize like-minded countries to impose automatic tariffs on selected Chinese exports, which would only be lifted after China ceased its measures of economic coercion. Biden could also link unwinding current U.S. tariffs on China to China’s coercive behavior.
Yes, moving quickly and multilaterally to impose costs would short-circuit the WTO dispute resolution process. However, the current WTO system has clearly failed to dissuade China from resorting to coercive trade measures. Stronger actions are required if the United States and its allies can even hope to change China’s cost-benefit calculus.
Finally, Biden should consider visiting Australia in his first overseas trip after the inauguration. Australia is one of America’s most steadfast allies; it has fought alongside the United States in every major conflict for more than 100 years. Jumping Australia to the front of the line at this moment would send a clear message both to China and U.S. allies in the region that in the face of Chinese aggression, the United States has its friends’ backs. I think the Canadians would understand.
Tweets of the Week fans, be sure to subscribe to ChinaTalk so you don’t miss out on our subscribers-only ‘Tweets of the Year’ edition of the newsletter
Thread on how to do more with export controls.


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updated - May 23, 2018 Wednesday EDT
"The Jungle Book" producer and global rights owner DQ Entertainment International (DQE) has sealed a deal with Burger King to distribute in-restaurant merchandising and themed toys.
DQE, "The Jungle Book" 3D CGI animated TV series owner, along with SMC Entertainment Group Inc., rights owner for North America, said in a statement they will launch an integrated marketing campaign at more than 12,000 Burger King locations worldwide. T
"Burger King is the second largest hamburger chain in the world. With The Jungle Book airing successfully in territories such as the US, Canada, Germany, France and UK, this collaboration provides strong synergies and will further increase the fan base of this classic property," said Tapaas Chakravarti, Chairman & CEO of DQ in a statement.
The Jungle Book promotion is based on The Jungle Book TV series' seasons 1 and 2 and The Jungle Book feature film that is currently being produced by DQE.
"Burger is proud to feature 'The Jungle Book' property to complement and enhance the excitement of our Kids Meal offerings during this promotional partnership," said Jose R Costa, Vice President, Marketing and R&D, Latin America and Caribbean, Burger King Corp.
TOP 10 FRANCHISES OF 2018

domain: news


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- News tagged "google"
Wednesday, 25 Apr 2012
SingTel's Store and Share, Singapore's first cloud storage service, will offer consumers up to 10GB of free online storage for their documents and multimedia content. The app is available on the iOS and Android platforms.
Photos of another "dummy box" for the alleged ICS-flavored Samsung Galaxy S III (Samsung GT-I9300) have been leaked, featuring a larger virtual menu button than the one found on the Android 4.0 stock software.
Tuesday, 24 Apr 2012
The Samsung Galaxy S III benchmark results were accidentally hosted for some time on GLBenchmark with a screenshot promptly taken, Phone Arena reports.
Monday, 23 Apr 2012
Samsung's own cloud service, the S-Cloud, is said to be unveiled alongside the Samsung Galaxy S III on the 3rd of May in London, according to The Verge and MK.
To drum up more hype for its upcoming Galaxy S III flagship phone, Samsung launched a teaser site with a countdown ending in about 10 hours. What will be revealed then still remains a mystery.
Friday, 20 Apr 2012
A sneak peek video at the Samsung Galaxy S III has been making its round on the Internet, a few weeks before its official May 3rd unveiling, Engadget reports.
The quad-core LG Optimus 4X HD will be available not only in black but white as well, according to PocketNow.
Obsessed with your Gmail inbox? Help is at hand for Google cooked up an apps script recently to track your email volume, usage habits, and more.
Thursday, 19 Apr 2012
Google secretly restructured its internal network using an open-source technology called OpenFlow two years ago. Here are some insights as to why the search giant chose such a radical path.
An unnamed Samsung executive mentioned that the company's upcoming Samsung Galaxy S III will be powered by Samsung's very own Exynos quad-core CPU with an on-chip LTE, adding on to the list of rumors surrounding Samsung's next Android smartphone.


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BRP’s evolving on-road line of Spyders continues to grow with its 2011 model lineup.
The OEM announced it is adding an luxury touring model to its three-wheel, roadster family.
The Spyder RT Limited will feature a premium audio system, adjust-on-the-fly rear air suspension, a handlebar-mounted Garmin Zumo 660 GPS, and four custom-fit semi-rigid travel bags and a travel cover.
The 2011 line also will include changes to the Spyder RS-S sport roadster, which will feature two new two-tone color schemes and an array of blacked-out components.
“Listening and responding to the feedback of our consumers and dealers is an important part of who we are at BRP,” Yves Leduc, vice president and general manager of BRP’s North America division, said in a press release. “The rapidly growing group of Can-Am Spyder owners and dealers are not shy about sharing their ideas and suggestions, and our product development team put their feedback at the heart of the 2011 Spyder roadsters.”
For more on the 2011 line, see an upcoming edition of Powersports Business.


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ABI Research analysts say North American households with 4K TVs are expected to pass 10% by the end of 2018.
We recently reported that Cube had introduced an accessory "kit" allowing users to transform their tablets into a TV box. Well, Cube is in the news again, only this time it is about an actual tablet, rather than a kit.
Sharp is planning to let go 5,000 workers over the next three years. Most of the cuts are expected at overseas plans in China and Malaysia.
There are literally hundreds of PCs-on a stick crowding the lucrative Android market, including the quad-core MK809 III quad-core which first tipped up last month.
Amazon is reportedly prepping a TV set-top box designed to stream to video and presumably run Android apps from the company's curated storefront.
The search to find the first humans to set foot on another planet begins in earnest today April 22, when Mars One launches its much-vaunted astronaut selection programme in New York.
The Qube can best be described as a $129 set-top box powered by Google's rapidly evolving television platform that runs a specially designed UI designed by the industry heavyweight itself.
Apple is reportedly prepping a 4K ultra HD (UHD) television which could debut by the end of 2013.
Fashion bag maker Intel is making sure that it does not anger animal rights groups by testing its television service on human guinea pigs.
Troubled TV maker Panasonic is likely to prune off its plasma business over the next three years.
Apple has updated its flagship iOS to version 6.1, adding LTE capabilities to 36 additional iPhone carriers and 23 additional iPad carriers around the world.
LG has unveiled a rather interesting television set at CES 2013.
Of all the gadgets in my home, the device I would be least likely to give up is the DVR.
LG looks set to be the first TV manufacturer to get a 55-inch OLED TV out of the factory and onto the shelves, ahead of rival Samsung.
Microsoft is reported to have bought home entertainment technology startup id8 Group R2 Studios, in an effort to beef up its Xbox console.
Once the only rear-projection screen TV hold out, Mitsubishi has finally exited the market.
A long time ago, I used to watch a show called Robot Wars that featured little remote-controlled 'bots.
Samsung is getting ready to showcase its giant 85-inch Ultra HD television at CES 2013 in Las Vegas.
Hitachi has rolled out its new lineup of 3D smart TVs and next-generation HDTV's.
Cupertino is unlikely to design and market a full-fledged Apple television set - unless the company manages to clinch an unspecified number of content deals.


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Author Archives: Ben Hsu
Subaru recently opened an exhibition of its most iconic cars at its headquarters building in Japan. Loosely translated as “The Finest Cars of the Six Stars,” its name is a reference to the six-star constellation makes up the Subaru logo. If you’re in Tokyo, check … Continue reading
Have chrome-bumpered bullies been making you feel bad that your urethane-capped car isn’t truly a classic? Tell them to take a chill pill. Now that 1990 is the 25-year cutoff, everything that was built in the Eighties is officially a classic.
Mazda is set to unveil a new sports car concept at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show next month. That in itself is already cause to celebrate, but Mazda has gone on to state that this will be a heritage model. Sources from within … Continue reading
The march of AE86s coming out of the woodwork continues. Now what could very well be the lowest-mileage Toyota Corolla GT-S left in the world has surfaced in Waxhaw, North Carolina. With just 14,500 miles on the clock, this USDM version of … Continue reading
In Japan, shakotan is simply means a lowered car. Many different styles of car can technically qualify as shakotan, but if we’re going to steal a traditional Japanese term, we might as well apply it to traditional Japanese cars. You know it when … Continue reading
Talk about time travel. What were you doing in 1989? In Japan, car enthusiasts were lining up at Hakone Nanamagari Touge like it was a playground slide. A notoriously twisty section of mountain road, it is part of the most famous of Japan’s touge, the birthplaces … Continue reading
Time travel is real, but it only goes to one point on the space-time continuum: Showa Era Japan. For some reason, you have a briefcase full of 1960s-era yen in large bills. You also know of a remote garage in rural Japan … Continue reading
No one that walked through the Japanese Classic Car Show last weekend could have missed the astounding collection of half a dozen classic rotaries parked on the Queen Mary lawn. Each one was more pristine than the next, as if we had jumped a few … Continue reading
As it embarks on its second decade, the 2015 Japanese Classic Car Show has become a must-attend event, not just for J-tin owners or readers of this fine site, but car enthusiasts everywhere. Nowhere in America will you see a wider array of cars … Continue reading
This decrepit looking Honda N600 was one of the most important cars at the Japanese Classic Car Show last weekend. Why? Because it is the very first Honda automobile built for the US. That’s right, this faded lime green hatch barely larger than a picnic … Continue reading
As a die-hard car nut, you may not remember how many kids your boss has, your first kiss, or even your birthday, but you can sure as hell remember every vivid detail about the millisecond you laid eyes on a mind-blowingly awesome JNC. I, for … Continue reading
We are proud to debut our first poster collaboration with Japanese artist San Mamiya at this Saturday’s Japanese Classic Car Show. Titled Fuji Speedway, it is an easter egg-filled tribute to the golden era of Japanese motorsports, Showa Era pop culture, and, … Continue reading
Man, those guys at Nissan really know how to cut it close. Here are two cars they shipped over from the Zama warehouse in Japan for this Saturday’s JCCS, and they just arrived today.
Mazda’s lineup for this Saturday’s Japanese Classic Car Show promises to be a terrific gathering of zoom-zoomy machines. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s to come, in chronological order.
Honda has created a mutant offspring of motorcycle and street legal Formula One car from the 1960s. The Honda Project 2&4 has been revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
For the first time since the Japanese Classic Car Show’s inception, Nissan is finally an official sponsor. This Saturday will mark the 11th annual JCCS, and in the decade we at JNC have been setting up our little red canopy, we’ve heard … Continue reading
In the latest episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, the noted talk show host and car collector takes a ride in a 1971 Toyota Celica. The Celica was a game-changing car for not just Toyota, but the sport coupe segment that it spawned. Leno … Continue reading
Hot Wheels designer Jun Imai will be at the JNC booth this Saturday at the Japanese Classic Car Show in Long Beach, California. Jun will participate an autograph session from 10:30 to 11:00 am. Feel free to bring your cars, parts, posters … Continue reading
The 2015 Japanese Classic Car Show will be held this Saturday, September 19, at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. The premiere show for vintage autos from Japan is back, and this year it promises to be bigger and better … Continue reading
Nissan has unveiled the Gripz, the Safari Rally Z-inspired crossover at Frankfurt. Last week, Z enthusiasts reached for their pitchforks after media-fueled assumptions that it would replace the Z. But like we said on Friday, let’s take a deep breath. This is not the replacement … Continue reading


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Baldwin Richardson Foods, one of the largest Black family-owned and operated businesses in the food industry, has promoted Erin Tolefree from Chief Operating Officer to President.
Tolefree joins the 3% of C-suite level leaders in the food industry who are Black women. She first joined the company in 2001 as a national accounts manager, and advanced through the company before being named COO in 2019 and now president.
“Erin is an innovative leader with proven business acumen, dedication and the entrepreneurial spirit to successfully lead the company into the future,” says CEO Eric G. Johnson. “It is with great pride that today I celebrate Erin, who represents the third-generation of entrepreneurial leadership in our family. Her promotion to the role of President is confirmation to the continuity at Baldwin Richardson Foods and commitment to continue our journey as a privately-owned family business. I’m confident her leadership will bolster our business while continuing to raise the bar of excellence through our people-first commitment, accountability to our customers and the communities we serve.”
Baldwin Richardon manufactures custom food and beverage ingredients for a number of leading consumer packaged goods, quick service restaurant and food service brands, including McDonald’s. The company, which has an annual revenue of about $300 million, also manufactures Mrs. Richardson’s Ice Cream Toppings and Nance’s Mustards and condiments.


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Even as problems at checkout may be keeping customers from using Apple Pay, both retailers and banks continue to add their support to the service. An update to the Apple Pay website last night has now added even more well-known merchants to the list.
Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue demonstrated Apple Pay in use at the Oracle Arena last month. The arena is now among those added to the Apple Pay website, along with the Phoenix Suns’ Airway Center, as Apple Insider noticed.
Arenas aren’t the only new places you’ll be able to use Apple Pay. A number of popular retailers including GameSpot and T-Mobile retail stores have been added as well. Fast food chain Raley’s and two other eating establishments, FireHouse Subs and Luby’s, now support Apple Pay as well. Acme and Davis Food and Drug were also added to the list of supported retailers.
This comes on the heels of a number of new banks adding Apple Pay support, so not only are there new places to buy, but new ways to pay. There aren’t many big names among the banks added earlier this week, but a number of smaller, local banks and credit unions make Apple Pay more accessible for customers who prefer to keep their funds closer to home.
For the time being, only owners of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are able to use Apple Pay. As we’ve seen, the Apple Watch will also support Apple Pay, so the service is sure to see even more use when the watch arrives on customers’ wrists later this month, starting on April 24.
The Apple Pay website also updated the list of companies that will soon support the service. Marriot, Renaissance Hotels, Urban Outfitters, and Pep Boys are among those listed.


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‘Hail Mary’ for Cash-strapped Campaign
In a bold strategy to raise funds for her cash-strapped presidential campaign, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton today announced that she was selling her own tears on the popular auction site eBay.
After lending her campaign $5 million of her own money prior to the Super Tuesday primaries, Mrs. Clinton’s resources were reportedly tapped out, leading her to auction off vials of her own tears with a suggested opening bid of $10,000.
While the posted eBay description of her tears does not attribute any healing properties to them, it does claim that their historic value could be priceless.
Mrs. Clinton’s decision to auction off her own tears, while admittedly an unorthodox strategy, was not nearly as unusual as some of the other fundraising ideas floated by her campaign in recent days, sources said.
According to sources close to the New York senator, Mrs. Clinton had toyed with a number of unusual strategies, including marrying former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.


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It took less than a year for the transportation world to be forced to reinvent. Here's a look at what has happened in the industry since COVID-19 hit.
Use of ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft has dramatically slumped.
The two were already struggling to stay afloat before the pandemic, then took massive hits to their operations this year as people shied away from rides in confined, shared spaces.
The only reprieve for Uber has been its food-delivery business. The company said delivery revenue skyrocketed 103 percent in the second quarter. Lyft does not yet have a widespread food delivery business to offset its decline in trips.


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Government of India claims that demonetization has been inplemented to stop the
counterfeiting of the currency notes, which is the source of funding for terrorism
across the borders by the neighboring countries. Usually nations demonetize
their local units of currency for different reasons such as combating
inflation, corruption and to discourage a dominant cash system (January 2017). Demonetization in a way has forced the black
money holders to bring their cash into the banking system. The banking system itself
requires further tax information and the mechanism to curb fake currency.
Unaccounted money was
often used for illegal purpose
The fake Indian currency
in higher denomination have increased
In United Nation highest
note $100 and United Kingdom highest denomination is 50
Real estate may see
significant course correction
Political parties in
crisis ahead of polls
Moving towards digital
Purchase of gold
Effect of Demonetization
had many disadvantages. The entire exercise caused disorder, chaos, and people
faced lot of problems to exchange the old currency and to get new currency.
Several deaths were reported while standing in queues for long time to exchange
their currency. BSE, and SENSEX lost nearly 1689 points, while NIFTY lost by
over 541 points soon after the announcement of demonetization. A sudden hike in
the online transactions with usage of debit and credit cards was also reported.
The effect of demonetization depends on government policies. The effect will
turn to negative when the government chooses to increase the salaries of
organized sector and government employees with extra revenue generated
through demonetization process. It will be a problem of survival for the
digital payment sector across the global economy is one of the most dynamic sectors.
The term digitalization was started with the e-commerce start-ups. These
e-tailers helped to begin the process of weaning customers into online channels
in the country. Digital transactions are becoming popular not only in India but
also in other countries as well. According to Google and The Boston Consulting
group report, digital payments are likely to be around US$500 billion by 2020,
which is 10 times higher than the current level.


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MG has released images and limited details of a new electric sports car concept called the Cyberster. […]
With just two weeks to go until Goodwood Festival of Speed 2018, MINI UK is excited to confirm two concept vehicles making their UK debut. MINI will offer a glimpse into the future direction of the brand with the MINI Electric Concept showcasing its design vision for a fully-electric model. Also a UK first, and inspired by the carmaker’s legendary motorsport heritage, the MINI John Cooper Works GP Concept will be on display as part of MINI’s activation at the 2018 festival. The MINI Electric Concept features an iconic design with clean-cut surfaces for a minimalist impression and will be the first fully electric MINI. The concept offers a thrilling preview of the all-electric production vehicle due to be unveiled in 2019.
Highly accurate recreations, not replicas, bring two bold Jaguar icons from the ’60s and the ’90s back to life. Two concept cars from Jaguar – originally built more than three decades apart – have been accurately recreated by classic car experts, who plan to offer exact reproductions for sale. The first is the mid-engined XJ13, a possible Le Mans contender built in the 1960s, while the second recreates 1999’s XK180, originally crafted to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the much-loved Jaguar XK120.


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Adam Roseman, CEO of ARC Investment Partners, a Beverly Hills-based private equity firm.
In: ARC China26 Jul 2011
In an effort to further develop the cultural industry, China has set up its first state-level investment fund with this focus, according to Adam Roseman of ARC Investment Partners. Aiming to raise 20 billion yuan, or $3.1 billion, the China Culture Industrial Investment Fund was launched by the Ministry of Finance and three other companies. [...]
Adam Roseman of ARC China recently discussed Prada’s initial public offering in Hong Kong in the company’s newsletter. He explained that Prada SpA hopes to raise as much as $2.6 billion in the offering. According to Scilla Huang Sun, equity head at Swiss & Global Asset Management, on average, Chinese consumer companies “have a higher [...]
According to an article written by Adam Roseman in ARC China’s newsletter, Starbucks Coffee Company has recently announced that it plans to acquire ownership of all its stores in China from Maxim’s Caterers Ltd. Starbucks said the transaction would enable it to increase profitability in China, because it would give the company more direct control [...]
ARC China’s recent newsletter reported that Coca-Cola Co., the largest soft-drink producer in the world, announced that it is exploring a possible listing in Shanghai. Coca Cola stated that it will invest $2 billion into China, as well as opened three new plants in Mongolia late last year. “We are interested in exploring the opportunity [...]
Stay up to date on the economic news from China. Gain insight from leading investors in the Chinese market, like Adam Roseman of ARC Investment Partners. Follow the economic trends and changes occurring in the global marketplace, as they relate to changes taking place in China.


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Profile by Sanford has developed a new test designed to tell how people are genetically wired to metabolize carbohydrates.
- Real Estate
- Food & Drink
A Sioux Falls company has received approval from the FDA to market its signature Omega-3 Index test as an over-the-counter, general health and wellness product.
Growing Sioux Falls company Magnify Apps has launched a new app targeting brides-to-be and sees opportunity to expand as app technology evolves.
When you’re ready to make the leap from a home office, co-working space or incubator such as Zeal, how do you know which office space is right for you?
Mike Vetter started as an entrepreneur at Zeal years ago, graduated from it, joined the board — and then brought his latest startup venture back to incubate.


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Fūz Designs, that company that brought us the Nokē padlock last year, has returned with another innovative lock designed specifically for the urban cyclist. The new Nokē U-Lock promises to revolutionize security for our bikes by eliminating the need for a key, integrating an alarm system, and incorporating innovative sharing and GPS features.
The Nokē (Get it? No-key?) U-Lock pairs with a smartphone via Bluetooth using an iOS or Android app. Once properly configured, the lock can then be opened with the simple push of a button, provided the smartphone – or another shared phone – is within close proximity. In this case, your phone becomes your key, completely eliminating the need to carry a physical one altogether.
Other interesting features include an alarm system that sounds if someone shakes the lock for more than three seconds, and the ability to share your bike with others by authorizing their phones to unlock the Nokē as well. Shared access can be set up on a one-time basis, or can be scheduled for specific days and times. And when you no longer want that person to have access to your bike, you can revoke their privileges instantly. Fūz has even given the Nokē the ability to use your phones GPS capabilities to automatically mark its location on a map, making it easy to find it when you’re ready to ride again. The lock will even be compatible with the Apple Watch – as well as other smartwatches – and can be opened using an optional Bluetooth key fob too.
Fūz launched a Kickstarter campaign a few weeks back with the intention of raising funds to get the Nokē U-Lock into production. The company quickly surpassed its initial goal of $100,000, and backers have since gone on to pledge more than $220,000 toward the project. With their campaign a success, the Nokē will go into mass production this summer, and should begin shipping in September. It is expected to carry a price tag of $129 when it becomes available, although Kickstarter backers can get one for just $99.


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I got a really interesting press release yesterday.
"People can not only play games and watch premium entertainment content on their Xbox 360™, they can now create content for it, too. Microsoft Corp. and the New York Television Festival (NYTVF) today announced the Xbox LIVE Originals contest, granting aspiring television producers the opportunity to create a pilot that could be chosen for the first original series developed specifically for the Xbox LIVE® online gaming and entertainment network. Microsoft will award the winning entrant a $100,000 budget and an opportunity for a six-episode commitment to air the television series on Xbox LIVE, the largest social network in the living room. The pilot episode of the winning series is scheduled to debut this fall at the third annual NYTVF, the industry’s first showcase for independent television, before being featured exclusively on Xbox LIVE, home to a community of more than 6 million people worldwide. This marks the first time that user-created entertainment content will be available worldwide for download exclusively on Xbox LIVE."
Interesting. Big brand + "independent tv" = ? I will have to look forward to youtube to see the results.


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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Food and Drug Administration has hit another Johnson & Johnson unit -- medical device maker DePuy Orthopaedics -- with a warning letter for selling hip and other joint products without the agency's approval.
The FDA said in the letter that the company has been selling its TruMatch Personalized Solutions System, which makes artificial knee products, and the Corail Hip System without "market clearance" and in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
The agency said DePuy should immediately stop selling the Corail products or face further enforcement action, which could include product seizure, injunction or civil penalties.
The FDA said it will only evaluate whether these products can be legally marketed to consumers after DePuy submits information for approval.
The company's McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit, which makes well-known cold and pain drugs such as Tylenol and Benadryl, has received negative inspection reports and warning letters tied to manufacturing lapses at its U.S. factories.
In May, McNeil shut a plant in Fort Washington, Penn., after the company recalled millions of children's Tylenol and other drugs that were made at that facility.
In this latest warning letter, the FDA has given Depuy 15 days to correct the violations.
Sumner Redstone, the media mogul who controls Viacom and CBS, is at the center of a legal dispute. One side says he is practically unable to make decisions for himself. The other says he is "engaged and attentive." More
Gold futures hit a low of $1,051.60 an ounce, yet another reminder of just how out of favor gold has become since its all-time high of nearly $1,890 in 2011. More
Watsi crowdfunds donations to cover healthcare costs of those in need. And it's seeing a surprising trend: micro-donations via the popular Chinese social networking app, WeChat. More
Facebook just increased the amount of paid time off new dads working at its international offices can take. More


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The NASSCOM Education Summit 2014 was held on 18th of July at EZCC, Salt Lake City, Kolkata, with the objective to create an opportunity for students to listen, participate and actively engage themselves with the iconic people and thought leaders of the industry. Focusing on the three E’s to success (Education, Employability, Entrepreneurship) and encouraged entrepreneurship in students by motivating them to create employability skills and get the latest technology trends, industry insights, requirements and expectations.
The Education Summit was held parallel to the NASSCOM Product Conclave (Kolkata Chapter) at Hyatt, where our product, APPSeCONNECT got showcased and listed amongst the top 7 products. Insync also got awarded as being one of the top product companies in eastern India.
This is the first time an education summit was held in the eastern region of the country. With over 1250 registrations by students and academia, the response was overwhelming!
There were workshops and motivational speeches by eminent people from the industry and to encourage entrepreneurship, a CEO journey panel discussion was done which was moderated by Mr. Ganesh V, a marketing professional, mentor to entrepreneurs and author.
Mr. Atul Gupta, Founder and CEO of InSync Solutions participated in the discussion and gave his valuable advice to the budding entrepreneurs.
Students from various institutions across India participated in the two competitions: Business Plan Competition and Idea to Prototype Competition which were a part of the event.
Devendra Singh (COO, Insync Solutions Ltd) and Abhishek Sur (Product Head, Insync Solutions) were part of the Jury of Education Summit, who scrutinized every single project and made sure that the best teams reach the finals.
InSync was part of the core organizing team and actively participated to make this event a success.


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One of the most anticipated VR, other than Oculus, the Vive VR developed by smartphone manufacturer HTC, is set to be shipped by Early April this year. The Consumer Vive comes with a Bluetooth phone integration to enable the users to answer calls while in VR.
Costing $200 more than it’s chief rival, the Oculus Rift, which is priced at $600 for the base package, the Vive VR, powered by Valve’s Steam VR, is priced at $799, and will include a controller for each hand and a pair of “Lighthouse” laser base stations to track movement in a room-scale environment. The system will ship with two popular titles, Job Simulator and Fantastic Contraption for a limited time only.
The price of the Vive VR was revealed at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona where it was confirmed by UploadVR that the Vive will ship with an internal microphone and an Integrated Bluetooth support to enable users to communicate through a variety of smartphones.
From early April, HTC Vive will ship to 24 countries at first to people pre-ordering the device on 29th February. The Vive is set to compete with the Oculus Rift from the very first day as “the complete experience.” said Dan O’Brien, the Vice President of Virtual Reality at HTC.
In an Interview with UploadVR, O’Brien explained that it is different from the $200 cheaper Oculus Rift, as the Rift ships with an Xbox controller while the Vive includes hand controllers, providing more flexibility and mobility. The Rift is bundled with sit-down VR applications like space shooter EVE: Valkyrie and third-person platformer Lucky’s Tale. In late 2016, Oculus expects to ship an additional camera for tracking and its Oculus Touch controllers which will bring the experience to hands as well.
O’Brien continues by saying, “You have your hand interaction. Everything that’s there for you to actually move around in VR. And that’s what’s so critical is that you can move around. You can feel safe and you can actually experience all that content around you, [Buyers] don’t have to get other pieces later to do more, to get up and move around.”
Moreover, HTC is increasing features to give people room for a comfortable long time walk in the VR world. An outward-facing camera on the headset, combined with the “Chaperone” and “Lighthouse” systems will track movement and alert before a collision which are designed to work together to make users feel safe and enable them to communicate with people around them as well.
HTC Also revealed the SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS to run the VIVE VR:
Vive is set to be an international release, and the first countries to experience the Vive are: U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Ireland, Sweden, Taiwan, China, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
It is expected that the available titles with both the Oculus and the Vive VR will be the ultimate arena for competition between HTC and Oculus in the last few months before the release. Oculus was a bit early to come up with the first development kit as a product of developing partnerships, and the consequences of this longer development times will be revealed at an upcoming event in San Francisco on the next month.
O’Brien sees the Vive as a platform for more open development In spite of the fact that Oculus-exclusive software are of much importance to Facebook.
“We’ve told developers we’re not doing exclusives. Be healthy. Put your stuff on other platforms,” O’Brien said. “That’s gonna make you a healthier developer and we don’t want to put those restrictions on them.”
There may be further announcements for both the Vive and Oculus that may affect the deal of both the headsets, which are most likely to be revealed in a Virtal Reality Developers Conference from 14th to 18th March in San Francisco.


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British Airways’ parent company International Airlines Group (IAG) has reached a deal to buy-out bmi,it has been announced. IAG could purchase the regional airline in the first quarter of next year and an agreement is set to be signed in weeks. The buy-out would see BA own 53% of flight slots at Heathrow.
However,Virgin Atlantic has also made a bid for bmi to stop British Airways taking the majority slots at the airport. “British Airways’ hold over Heathrow is already too dominant and we are very concerned – as the competition authorities should also be – that BA’s purchase of BMI would be disastrous for consumer choice and competition,” said Virgin Atlantic’s statement. “With Government limiting growth at London Heathrow, they cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the deterioration of competition that would result from a BA purchase of bmi”.


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Spotify has partnered with psychology PhD candidate David M. Greenberg to compile the perfect playlist of songs to wake up to. You can listen to it below.
The playlist is part of a series by Spotify that includes a 30-track compilation of music put together by a gynaecologist to give birth to, which includes Pearl Jam, Sigur Rós, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Muse and U2.
Streaming giant Spotify revealed that it surpassed 100m monthly active users last month (June). They also told The Telegraph that 30% of its monthly active users are paying subscribers, who are charged £9.99 a month in the UK, €9.99 a month in Europe and $9.99 a month in the US.
Rival streaming service Apple Music surpassed 10 million subscribers in January, just over six months after it launched at the end of June 2015. Meanwhile, Tidal surpassed one million subscribers in October.
It hasn’t all been good news for Spotify recently though, as it was forced to deny that user information had been posted online in an alleged breach of security in April. TechCrunch reported that “hundreds” of users had their email addresses, passwords and other account information appear on the Pastebin website.


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•Overall revenues increased by $2.5 million, or 6.6%, to $39.7 million for the second quarter of 2015 from $37.2 million for the same period of last year. The increase in revenues was mainly driven by increase in sales volumes and partially offset by decrease in average selling prices for both paper cartons and corrugating medium paper. Average selling price for flexo paper cartons was particularly weak during the second quarter of 2015. •Gross profit decreased by $1.2 million, or 17.9%, to $5.3 million for the second quarter of 2015 from $6.5 million for the same period of last year. Gross margin decreased by 4 points to 13.4% for the second quarter of 2015 from 17.4% for the same period of last year. •Operating loss was $0.05 million for the second quarter of 2015, compared to net income of $1.7 million for the same period of last year.
The sudden and continuing sharp rise in input costs, particularly pulp and latex, make corrective pricing measures inevitable. Therefore Sappi Europe announces prices increases for all Packaging and Specialty Papers with effect as of June 1st, 2017.
The increase will be in the range of 5 – 8% and will affect all Coated and Uncoated Grades for Flexible Packaging, Siliconising Base Papers, Label Papers and Topliner. The price rise will apply to all European and Overseas markets.
The final implementation will be discussed short term on an individual basis with customers in all countries, respecting existing agreements.


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Report: Video, social media sites used to market alcohol to youth
When Smirnoff released its Raw Tea line, it promoted the alcoholic beverages with a viral video advertising campaign based on the musical commercial video “Tea Partay,” which you can see below.
That video registered five million YouTube hits. But the problem is that no one knows who watched it. In this story by Jeff Horwich, he says “The alcohol industry’s voluntary rule says 70 percent of people who see your ad have to be legal. But on YouTube, Facebook, and cell phones,” that can’t be measured.
A new report to be released today by the Center for Digital Democracy and Berkeley Media Studies Group of the Public Health Institute suggests that alcohol beverage companies are using new technologies such as online videos and social media to reach and target youth. One of the examples the study cites is Malibu rum offering a free iPhone application allowing users to bowl in a rum shack using Malibu bottles as pins. Another example is Molson Coors and other alcohol beverage companies using the latest social-media monitoring tools to track and target consumers who use sites like Facebook and MySpace.
The group behind the study is urging the Federal Trade Commission to take action.
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Internet rumours this week pegged Bandai Namco as being the mystery studio behind Metroid Prime 4 - something multiple sources have now confirmed to Eurogamer as being accurate.
Specifically, the highly-anticipated Nintendo Switch exclusive is being developed by Bandai Namco Studios Singapore, which we understand is lead studio on the game in collaboration with Nintendo.
This studio houses some former LucasArts Singapore staff who previously worked on, among other things, the ambitious cancelled Star Wars 1313.
[UPDATE: Since publication I've heard Bandai Namco's Japan studio is also working on the project, with the intention it will now take the lead on its development while Singapore moves to focus on another Switch game]
Metroid Prime 4 was briefly announced via a logo shown during Nintendo's E3 2017 broadcast. During a media pre-briefing, journalists asked Nintendo exactly who was behind the game. Nintendo declined to reply, except to say that Retro Studios, which created the original Metroid Prime Trilogy, was not behind the project.
Since then, speculation has been rife over who was working on Metroid Prime 4, but nothing more has been announced about the game since.
It is still relatively early in the game's development - there's no suggestion Prime 4 will launch this year (which, perhaps, might just leave room for a port of the Metroid Prime Trilogy compilation to get Switch owners up to speed on the story so far).
In particular, Press-Start noted how Bandai Namco Studios Singapore staff members had not tried very hard to conceal they were working on something exciting.
Looking through their profiles, I saw staff saying they are working on a "secret" game, an "ambitious AAA title", a "very interesting unannounced project" and a game which will see "more exciting details" announced "soon (or later)!"
One staff member in particular, a lead designer, described themselves as working on an "unannounced IP (first person shooter/adventure exclusive to the Nintendo Switch)". This staff member also listed themselves as overseeing work on an exclusive Ridge Racer 8 for Switch, too - something Eurogamer has yet to also verify.
Namco is, of course, no stranger to working with Nintendo on the latter's biggest franchises. It developed Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U, as well as Pokémon spin-off Pokkén Tournament for Wii U and Switch.
When contacted, a Nintendo spokesperson told Eurogamer it did not comment on rumour or speculation.
I spoke with Metroid Prime series producer Kensuke Tanabe back in 2015 about his ideas for a fourth Metroid Prime game - including which story arcs and characters from the original trilogy might crop again, and which he now considered concluded.


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Energica secures first Canadian dealer
Tag Archives: Canada
This year’s rally features top-end custom motorcycle builders from across North America, a custom motorcycle ...
Copes aims to expand upon Royal Enfield's growth in the U.S. and Canadian markets.
Unlike in the US, Honda Canada confirmed it will offer the CB300F with ABS as standard equipment.
Suzuki is recalling the 2014 V-Strom 650 ABS in the U.S. while the GSX650FA faces a similar recall in Canada
Former Husqvarna President Kris Odwarka is taking over for Hans Blesse as VP of BMW Motorrad USA
Canada and Germany announced recalls for the 2012-2014 BMW C600 Sport and C650GT scooters.
Yamaha USA has yet to announce the FZ-07 but new CARB documents lead us to believe it’s coming.
Join the Ride For Sight fundraiser and help fund research to cure blindness.
Harley-Davidson is recalling 2013-2014 Breakout models, including CVO versions, because the fuel level indication ...


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A video game about a world-ravaging pandemic that kills half of humanity has shot to the top of Apple’s App Store in China at the same time as three cities have been put into lockdown to halt the spread of the coronavirus.
Plague Inc, first released in 2012, is a strategy game in which players take on the role of causing a pandemic. They must evolve their pathogen, balancing infectiousness, lethality and visibility, in order to succeed at infecting and killing as many people as possible before humanity invents and deploys a cure.
According to the analytics firm AppAnnie, it is now the most-downloaded paid-for game on iOS in China, and the sixth most-downloaded paid-for app overall. The game has also risen to the top of the charts in other nations including the UK and US.
It is not the first time real-world events have boosted sales of the game, according to Ndemic Creations, its developers. “Plague Inc has been out for eight years now and whenever there is an outbreak of disease we see an increase in players, as people seek to find out more about how diseases spread and to understand the complexities of viral outbreaks,” a spokesperson said.
“We specifically designed the game to be realistic and informative while not sensationalising serious real-world issues,” they added. The spokesperson urged gamers to “remember that Plague Inc is a game, not a scientific model, and that the current coronavirus outbreak is a very real situation which is impacting a huge number of people. We would always recommend that players get their information directly from local and global health authorities.”
Plague Inc’s sequel, a game about fighting a guerrilla war against an oppressive state, has also started rising up the Chinese App Store charts, moving from sixth to third place on the paid games chart over the course of Friday. Ndemic Creations’ website stopped working for a time, apparently collapsing under the weight of traffic.
In the run-up to the UK general election last month, Plague Inc partnered with a British charity, Full Fact, to produce an expansion to the game in which players took the role of malicious actors running a misinformation campaign, trying to spread fake news faster than fact-checkers could counter their claims. The charity’s chief executive, Will Moy, said: “This game will reach millions more people, helping them to understand the real threat that bad information poses to their vote.”


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HMD Global was only making Android-powered smartphones but it seems like HMD Global is looking for taking control over Nokia feature phone that will be powered by Android.
Google has now two different platforms for low-end devices, the one from Google itself i.e., Android Go which is the basic version of Android designed for phones with 1GB or less amount of RAM and another one is the Kai-OS which designed by Kai technologies and later partnered with Google for bringing Google services to feature phone.
A recent report by 9to5Google shows an image where it appears to be an in-development Nokia feature phone. Another unknown source claims that it is running some sort of Android. So it hints us that Nokia is working with Kai-OS for their next Nokia branded feature phone.
Nokia Feature Phone
In the image, we see what appears to be a new layout for the Android home screen. At the top of the screen, there is a microphone icon which none other than the Google’s standard microphone icon which is used in most of the Google services which indicates about the Google assistant.
Beside that we can see an app drawer icon in the center, using Google’s four-color scheme. And the other icons show Google’s proprietary services i.e., Google Chrome, YouTube and Google’s default camera icon.
If we compare the status bar of both phones, we can see a full change in the old and new layout. The batter, signal and time at the top can be seen in most of the Google-branded Pixel devices which again hints us about the Google service is being used in the Nokia feature phone.
- ROG Phone 2 on TENAA Listing Shows a Huge 5,800 mAh Battery
- Nokia 9 PureView Officially Launched in India
- Leaked Photos Shows Nokia Device with 48MP Camera and Waterdrop Notch


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AR continues to merge with other tech trends. For example, it continues to converge with the “shoppability” movement. Everything is becoming shoppable – from YouTube videos to Instagram Stories. And AR adds further value through dimensional product try-ons.
Another trend that’s colliding with AR is the creator economy. Creative tools continue to empower individuals at all skill levels to develop advanced content. And that comes about as 3D and AR content are likewise gaining popularity. The result will be an explosion of AR talent.
One of those democratizing forces is Snap’s Lens Studio. In fact, it just announced at this week’s Lens Fest that it has reached 300,000 lens creators on the platform, who have collectively created 3 million lenses. This is up from 250,000 creators and 2.5 million lenses last year.
Speaking of Lens Fest, AR Insider Editor-in-Chief Mike Boland spoke at this year’s event. And his main theme aligned with all of the above: the collision of AR and the creative economy. So we’re focusing on his session for this week’s XR Talks (video & takeaways below).
Before getting into the dynamics of the creator economy and lens developers, the opportunity is rooted in AR’s growing usage. To wrap some numbers around that claim, ARtillery Intelligence projects that there were 836 million global AR users last year, growing to 1.7 billion by 2026.
More importantly, how does this translate to business opportunity? One answer is brand marketing. Demonstrating products with greater dimensions resonates with brand marketers, who’ve spent most of the past two decades confined to tiny boxes in mobile banner ads.
AR conversely lets them break out of those confines and literally think outside the box by letting consumers visualize products in their full 3D glory on “faces and spaces.” Beyond creative juices, AR’s appeal in marketing lies in its measurable campaign performance.
For example, formats like sponsored lenses, demonstrate real performance relative to 2D benchmarks. We’re talking everything from upper-funnel engagement (e.g., dwell times up to 5 minutes) to lower-funnel action, such as tripling eCommerce conversion rates.
And though there’s been a great deal of adoption and excitement among brand marketers for all these reasons, we’ve barely scratched the surface. The estimated $3.3 billion spent this year on AR ad advertising is only half a percent of the $738 billion spent annually on advertising.
How does all the above relate to the creator economy? In short, growing levels of brand marketing activity and investment will create demand for lens talent. If AR demand continues to ratchet up among brand marketers, the demand for AR creators will ratchet up with it.
This is analogous to the demand-driven value for web and app developers over the past decade. It turned out to be a heck of a career choice. AR creators over the next decade could see something similar, including not only job security but lots of leverage (read: income).
And we’re already seeing that. A few examples we’ve tracked include lens developers that make $750,000 to $1.2 million per year at the high end. In most cases, they got started simply by creating lenses as a hobby or passion, then caught the eyes of brand marketers.
Lens creators today are also empowered by platforms and communities. Sticking with Lens Studio as an example, there are more and more tools baked in to accelerate lens developers. That includes analytics, portfolio tools, grant funding, and networking for paid work.
There’s also a fair amount of design inspiration in these platforms, which will be valuable as AR UX standards evolve. We’re already seeing movement towards AR that has greater everyday utility, including a shift from selfie filters (play) to world-facing lenses (productive).
As these lens standards and use cases develop, not only are they valuable on their own but as a training ground for AR’s next generation: smart glasses. In fact, refining skills with world-facing lenses will serve AR creators well, as smart glasses’ UX is all world-facing.
Possible lenses include identifying products in the real world and letting you buy those products on the spot (back to the shoppability trend). There’s also ample opportunity for local discovery such as finding out about a new restaurant through line-of-sight informational annotations.
To be clear, the day when we’re all wearing AR glasses is still years away for technological and cultural reasons. But as that day approaches, smart creators will already have had a few years to develop the right muscles and hit the ground running with world-facing AR.
Of course, all of the above is a moving target and we’ll have to continue to track it closely over the coming years and course correct like a heat-seeking missile. But many signals today point to AR’s growth as a consumer utility, and the creator economy’s role in making it all happen.
See the full talk below…


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It is no secret that beauty is one of the consumer-facing sector’s most exciting industries. Over the past few years, we have seen dozens of high-value mergers and acquisitions, industry-defining innovation and the birth of countless challenger brands which are redefining the beauty landscape. Against this backdrop, and with the industry poised on the cusp of boom, Covid-19 has presented challenges that few could have predicted, shuttering stores, halting product development and forcing the closure of entire sub-sectors. But amid all this disruption we have seen positive change, and it has been an interesting exercise to watch closely as businesses undergo long-awaited digital transformations and find new, exciting ways to engage with customers.
With this in mind, The MBS Group has conducted more than 80 conversations with CEOs, Chairs, Executive Directors, founders and investors from across the beauty sector over the past few months. In doing so, we have been able to gauge the mood in the beauty industry and provide a snapshot of the themes, topics and most pressing conversations taking place in the sector, which we have compiled in our most recent report. What we found is that Covid-19 has accelerated trends at a spectacular pace, fast-tracking crucial discussions around the future of retail, digital capabilities and the prevalence of certain product categories.
Take retail, for example. The beauty industry is split between those executives who see Covid-19 as the final nail in the coffin for stores, and those leaders who feel retail will return to its former glory after the pandemic. The first group argue that replenishment-focused retailers will likely be outrun by experience-led organisations, such as Glossier, with a high-level of technological integration in-store. They predict the high street will undergo a full-scale overhaul, with physical sites used to further brand awareness rather than exclusively sell products. One executive from our research affirmed this view, suggesting that: “bricks and mortar will remain, but as a cathedral – used to express your brand and establish loyalty.” Another agreed, stating that: “businesses need to start getting rid of space… they won’t need it. The clever ones will start to use stores in different ways.”
Our research revealed that those who hold this view typically come from challenger brands or digitally-native businesses, and are often younger. By contrast, older leaders from more mainstream beauty businesses believe that traditional retail still has its place in the sector.
One executive from a leading cosmetics business, for example, compared industry fears of retail downturn to the 1999 debate around the emergence of duty free: “look,” they told us, “it’s the exact same fear as travel retail. Ecommerce is just another channel to compete with – not the end of retail as we know it.” This fierce debate is indicative of a wider trend in the beauty sector, as the industry continues to polarise between old and new ways of manufacturing, trading and marketing.
Central to the discussion is the emergence of digital. Across all sectors, Covid-19 has accelerated digital transformation at an extraordinary pace. The digitisation of the beauty industry is not a new phenomenon – in fact, beauty is leading on digital in the consumer goods space by a long way. However, the crisis has fast-tracked the macrotrend, forcing businesses to find digital solutions for almost all areas of beauty, including customer engagement, marketing, product innovation and testing.
One executive suggested that: “Covid-19 has really made a difference in the market between the already digitised beauty brands and those lagging behind”, but despite this viewpoint, our research identified a number of examples of traditional businesses which had risen to the challenge and quickly adopted digital solutions.
For many large companies in the beauty space, Covid-19 has acted as a watershed moment, jump-starting (sometimes long overdue) digital roll-outs. One global cosmetics and personal care group, for example, shared that it was a significant 18 months ahead of schedule on digital transformation. The group told us it had:
• Established a personal chat service, capturing data to learn more about its customer base;
• Built a new distribution centre in just 17 days; and
• Grown its digital consultants from 17,000 to 30,000.
Looking ahead, this digital revolution will continue – and beauty brands that fail to prioritise technological innovation will no doubt find themselves out-run by more forward-thinking organisations.
With this in mind, and even more so than before, there will be a scramble for digital talent in the sector. A quick look at major beauty brands provides some insight: organisations like Estée Lauder, Shiseido and Coty have been employing bold talent strategies for years, prioritising digital expertise over knowledge of the beauty sector. Almost all of these businesses have a Chief Digital Officer in place who came from a digital business – not a makeup or beauty brand.
From a product perspective, Covid-19 has accelerated the move away from colour cosmetics and towards skincare products. As events were cancelled and offices closed, consumers increasingly factored self-care into their purchasing decisions, opting to spend on skincare and bath-and-body products instead of makeup. This is further evidence of the burgeoning wellness trend. In particular, executives from the luxury channel said they attributed the rise in premium skincare to this macrotrend.
The beauty industry has been historically resilient, and we can look to China for evidence that the beauty sector will fare well in the face of the crisis. According to a recent report from McKinsey, the Chinese beauty industry saw sales dip by up to 80% in February compared with the 2019, but only 20% by March – a rapid rebound given the circumstances.
Going forward, we can expect exciting things from the beauty space. While Covid-19 has certainly taken its toll, we will be watching this fast-paced sector with interest, awaiting the innovation and disruption that I’m sure is to come. You can read our full report on Covid-19’s impact on the beauty sector here – we’d love to know what you think.


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The 550-HP Cadillac CT6-V Is ComingJanuary 15, 2019
Cadillac’s CT6 is apparently not dead: On Monday, the company announced a preorder program for the new twin-turbo V8-equipped CT6-V and told Automotive News that it’s looking for a way to keep the car on sale in the U.S. In late November, parent automaker GM said it was closing five North American plants, including the one that builds the CT6 luxury sedan.
Regardless of plants and restructuring, the CT6-V will go on sale in mid-2019, starting at $88,790 before destination. It will feature the company’s new Blackwing 4.2-liter twin-turbo V8 making around 550 hp and 627 lb-ft of torque. That price includes tuition and accommodation for a two-day stay at the Cadillac V-Performance Academy at Spring Mountain in Nevada.
“The 2019 CT6-V marks the expansion of the V-Series sub-brand and is the proof point of Cadillac’s commitment to build high-performance vehicles as we continue our product offensive,” said Steve Carlisle, president of Cadillac. “Fans of Cadillac will see high-performance variants across our portfolio.”
The “high-performance variants” line we can get behind, and we’re glad there’s reason to be optimistic about the CT6’s future after all. We’ll find out more after GM meets with the UAW (which it must do when closing a plant) later this year.
The CT6, by the way, was third in sales for large luxury cars last year, trailing the company’s own aging XTS and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.


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Mother in China Suffers Dearly After Husband Investigates Abuses at Ivanka Trump Factories
A mother of two in northwestern China is struggling to make ends meet after her husband was arrested for probing on factories that make shoes for Ivanka Trump’s brand.
Deng Guilian, 36, who currently works at a karaoke parlor in Xiangyang, Hubei Province, has a 7-year-old daughter, Chen Chen, and a 4-year-old son, Bo Bo.
Sadly, her overnight shift in the city prevents her from spending quality time with her children.
It was in May 2017 when Deng’s husband, Hua Haifeng, was accused of using recording devices to investigate labor abuses in a factory that supplied shoes for Ivanka Trump’s brand.
Hua was taken into custody along with two others for 30 days. Upon release, he was ordered to keep silent about the issue.
Unfortunately, Hua was under other restrictions that ultimately affected his capacity to find work.
“They said, ‘You only need to know that your husband has been arrested on criminal charges. You don’t need to know anything other than that,’” Deng told NPR at the time.
“I understand and support my husband’s work. I feel his work is legal and meaningful, so why should they arrest him?”
While Ivanka Trump has since committed to “the lives of countless women and girls,” and found “an unprecedented opportunity to advocate for change,” she has remained silent about labor conditions in her Chinese suppliers. Workers are allegedly forced to work overtime, paid as low as $1 an hour, and berated for the simplest mistakes.
The Huajian Group, responsible for the factory in question, denied the allegations. It produces 20,000 pairs of shoes for Ivanka Trump every year.
Li Qiang, founder of China Labor Watch, told the Associated Press via The Washington Post:
“As a public figure, she has the ability and resources to not only work on labor conditions at her own brand’s factories, but also to help improve labor conditions of the global supply chain as a whole. However, she did not use her influence to do these things.”
Since Hua’s arrest, Deng knew she had to move to support the family. Nonetheless, she remembers the good in her husband:
“Maybe he’s not such a big, important person. But every time he helps a worker resolve a problem, put yourself in that person’s position. Personally, I think it’s a very meaningful thing to do.”
For selling snacks and drinks from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., Deng earns under 2,000 yuan ($316) a month, and shares a bed with a coworker in a dormitory.
While her accommodation is free, her salary isn’t enough to sustain the family’s needs. More importantly, her children are dealing with the loss of their father — her absence from home isn’t making things any better, either.
On one of her free days, Deng asked her children if they wanted to see her before she went off. Bo Bo would come with her to close the gate behind her.
Chen Chen, who was busy coloring, answered with one word:
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What do Cate Blanchett and Leonardo DiCaprio have in common with certain Manhattan Chihuahuas? Matching designer fashions for the 2016 Oscars. Manhattan pet fashion designer Ada Nieves created mini-versions of the outfits worn by the stars on Oscar night for her Chihuahuas, reported the New York Post on March 7.
Does it seem like your practice sees more than its fair share of Labrador retrievers? There’s a reason why. On Feb. 22, the American Kennel Club (AKC) announced that, according to its 2015 registration statistics, Labrador retrievers are once again the most popular dogs in America. This is the 25th consecutive year they have had the top spot, claiming it in 56 percent of states.
Green sea turtles, once listed as an endangered species, are rebounding in record numbers today in Florida but now face a new threat: fibropapillomatosis (FP), reported Phys.org. One AAHA-accredited hospital is helping. Doug Mader, DVM, of AAHA-accredited practice Marathon Veterinary Hospital (MVH), along with five other veterinarians from MVH, volunteer at the Turtle Hospital, a rescue and rehabilitation hospital for sea turtles in the Florida Keys.
No, it’s not about wearing matching outfits. It’s about mud and, more specifically, about alleviating the time spent cleaning it off your favorite pooch. The Canadian company was producing the product for a niche market until the images went viral and sales jumped by 2,800%. Now, there's a waiting list.
Nothing warms the heart this time of year like a sweet or funny photo of staff and/or family, including four-footed ones, to decorate a holiday card to send to clients and loved ones. And sometimes it’s the informal photos—the ones that make us smile or laugh out loud—that mean the most. Such memorable moments were captured in the 2015 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards.
What do you get when you cross a canine with a hero? A hero dog, of course. And one of AAHA’s accredited members, Augusta Valley Animal Hospital, celebrated one of its own recently. Chara, a Norweigian elkhound and patient of August Valley Animal Hospital, an AAHA-accredited practice since 2004, was awarded one of eight 2015 American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards®, televised nationally on Oct. 30 on the Hallmark Channel. Chara’s award was in the Guide/Hearing Dog category.
Originality and creativity go a long way on Halloween, and those skills emerged in a pet Halloween costume conducted by the North Carolina News & Observer. Their first place winner was a six-year-old German pinscher and German shepherd mix named Koko. Her owner, Matt Gaebel, dressed Koko as the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz, his all-time favorite movie.
If you practice in Massachusetts or Rhode Island, you may want to consider adding a pet-pampering service to your hospital's offerings for its canine patients. At least, that’s what some new consumer research suggests. Thumbtack, a consumer review website in San Francisco, asked consumers across the United States to identify whether they used nine dog-related services, ranging from dog walking to grooming to massage. Researchers then analyzed the data in each state. The result is a state-by-state Pet Pampering Index (PPI), published on Sept. 10.
Had Tennessee Williams been writing 2,000 years ago, he might have coined the name of his play differently to reflect the times. At least, that’s what a recent discovery suggests. Researchers in Gloucester, England accidentally discovered a feline paw print on a type of tile—tegula—dated approximately 100 A.D., according to the BBC. The tile was dug up in 1969 but rediscovered in June by a researcher.
As summer vacation becomes a memory, and dreams of next year’s trip take shape, if that dream trip includes giraffes, be prepared to stay up late if you want to hear them talking. Giraffes’ late night humming may, in fact, be a form of communication, researchers at the University of Vienna suggested. Their findings were published Sept. 9 in BMC Research Notes.


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Sept. 15 (UPI) — Americans were still in a spending mood during the month of August, even with higher prices, government data showed on Thursday.
The Commerce Department issued its retail sales report for last month. It showed a 0.3% increase in spending over July, when spending actually decreased. Most analysts expected the data would show that spending was flat from July to August.
Sales in August were more than 9% higher than they were a year ago, the data showed.
The figures indicate that some Americans aren’t letting higher inflation rein in their spending, which totaled more than $683 billion last month.
The monthly figure is not adjusted for inflation, which increased slightly during the month of August.
Two particularly key factors in spending last month were declining gasoline sales and automobile purchases, the department said. If automobile sales are subtracted, retail spending in August swings to a 0.3% decline.
Analyst Ian Shepherdson called Thursday’s report “mixed,” but noted that “we see no cause for alarm.”
Increases in retail spending can lead to higher inflation if demand outpaces supply. Inflation in the United States slowed for the second straight month in August. Prices were 8.3% higher than August 2021 and 0.1% higher compared to July.
The Federal Reserve has increased key interest rates by 0.75% at its last three meetings, a move that traditionally has helped control inflation. The Fed is expected to raise rates again at its next policy meeting on Sept. 21.


text: Last week prices for precious metals remained practically unchanged. An ounce of gold hovered around the $ 1,220 mark, while silver traded near the $ 15.4 / oz level. Despite the fact that the dynamics on the precious metals market does not look the best, the latest mints figures show a sharp surge in demand. For example, the US Mint sold 35,000 ounces of American Eagle gold coins in July (+ 42.9% mom), which was a record high this year and doubled from a year ago. The demand for silver coins also increased – in July they were sold 103% more than in June. It is curious that according to polls, Americans are actively buying precious metals against the backdrop of a flaring trade and currency war with China, the outcome of which is not yet obvious.


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Inc. provided investors and analysts with new financial and operational details on the most advanced broadband network being deployed in America.
Outlining progress as the deployment of next-generation fiber-optic-based FiOS services gains momentum, key Verizon business leaders expressed confidence that FiOS investments would generate positive economic returns and shareholder value, based on several factors:
- FiOS Internet services are gaining market share in a growing broadband market.
- Early FiOS TV successes indicate a strong customer preference for choice among video providers.
- Innovative services are differentiating FiOS from competitive services and driving new market opportunities.
- The company's fiber deployment is already reducing network costs and positioning significant, ongoing savings in operating expenses.
Verizon said it plans to pass 18 million premises with its fiber network by the end of 2010, or more than 50 percent of the approximately 33 million households in the company's 28-state wireline service area. The FiOS network build-out is on target to pass a total of 6 million premises by year-end 2006, with an additional 3 million a year planned through 2010.
Fiber Investment to Provide Positive Returns
Verizon said that FiOS will generate positive operating income beginning in 2009, based in part on growing revenues from FiOS services combined with declining operational costs due to fiber network efficiencies. In addition, the company's total fiber investment is expected to be EBITDA-positive in 2008. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is a non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) profitability measure that adds depreciation and amortization to operating income.
Supported by demonstrated strong customer demand and a business model that will generate profitable growth within four years of initial investment, the company said it expects to invest $18.0 billion in net capital from 2004 through 2010 in deploying the nation's largest network that brings the broadband capacity of fiber optics all the way to customers' homes and businesses. This total is net of approximately $4.9 billion that Verizon estimates would otherwise be required to maintain traditional copper-wire technologies over the same period.
These profitability and investment projections are based on expectations of attracting up to 7 million FiOS Internet customers and up to 4 million FiOS TV customers by year-end 2010.
Achievable Targets, New Market Opportunities
"Our FiOS network deployment has positioned Verizon to win in an increasingly competitive consumer marketplace, and this creates a significant market opportunity for us," said Doreen Toben, Verizon executive vice president and chief financial officer.
"Our FiOS targets are based on what we view as achievable customer take-rates, reasonable pricing levels and conservative estimates of customer-retention metrics. Based on our experience deploying fiber, we see declining cost-trends to pass and connect homes, and we see significant ongoing operating expense savings."
Virginia Ruesterholz, president of Verizon Telecom, said, "We know that our fiber-to-the-premises network delivers the fastest and most reliable Internet-access service in the market today. FiOS TV has already proven itself to be a category leader, and we've found there's no doubt that customers want the choice and competition that FiOS TV brings to the video market.
"We are on track with our FiOS plans, and we are focused on continued execution to build on the momentum we have gained in the marketplace."
FiOS Internet Gaining Market Share
Verizon reported that FiOS Internet is gaining share against competitive services in a growing broadband market. Approximately 70 percent of FiOS Internet subscribers are new Verizon broadband customers.
Verizon has set a target of 725,000 FiOS Internet customers by year-end 2006, with the service available for sale to 5 million premises. This would represent a market penetration of approximately 15 percent, toward a 2010 goal of 35 percent to 40 percent -- or from 6 million to 7 million FiOS Internet customers.
This is an increase from the previously announced target of approximately 30 percent FiOS Internet market penetration by 2010. This change is based on stronger-than-expected customer take-rates. In areas where FiOS Internet has been introduced for sale, market penetration rates have averaged 12 percent after the first nine months and 15 percent after the first year.
By the end of the third quarter 2006, Verizon expects to have more than 500,000 FiOS Internet customers, compared with 375,000 FiOS Internet customers at the end of the second quarter 2006. Monthly churn rates, a measure of customer turnover, have been below 1.5 percent, indicating customer loyalty that exceeds the company's initial expectations.
FiOS TV Success Indicates Strong Customer Desire for Video Choice
Verizon is also seeing strong customer demand for FiOS TV, which was launched in its first market just a year ago. By the end of the third quarter 2006, Verizon expects to have more than 100,000 FiOS TV customers, and the company estimates that about two-thirds of FiOS TV customers have discontinued their cable TV service.
Verizon has set a target of 175,000 FiOS TV customers by year-end 2006, making the service available to 1.8 million households. This would be a market penetration rate of approximately 10 percent. More than 1 million households are already currently eligible to purchase FiOS TV services, due to Verizon's significant progress in obtaining state and local cable franchises.
Verizon's goal is for FiOS TV to have a market penetration rate that ranges from
20 percent to 25 percent by 2010 -- or from 3 million to 4 million FiOS TV customers -- based on its estimate that approximately 15 million households will be video-ready by then.
Nearly 80 percent of FiOS TV customers have purchased three services -- voice, data and video -- from Verizon. Monthly churn rates have mirrored those of FiOS Internet, or less than 1.5 percent, which also indicates customer loyalty that exceeds the company's initial expectations.
Innovative Services Differentiate FiOS
Since fiber is a superior network platform that delivers the most bandwidth to a home, Verizon is able to offer customers an innovative and differentiated product set when compared with traditional broadband and cable services.
FiOS already offers customers unsurpassed Internet-access speeds, with upstream (upload) speeds of up to 10 Mbps* (megabits per second) and with plans to offer downstream (download) speeds of up to 100 Mbps* for interactive gaming, educational, telemedicine, security and other applications.
Verizon detailed the FiOS TV enhancements expected in 2007, including a TV portal, home shopping and interactive broadcasting, gaming, and on-demand and multimedia enhancements. Among terrestrial TV providers, Verizon is already No. 1 in the number of national high-definition channels it offers, and it is No. 1 in the percentage of customers with digital service.
FiOS also offers future opportunities for convergence with Verizon Wireless and future interactive services, such as intelligent media search, interactive advertising and personal broadcasting. Verizon Wireless already provides broadband services over its national EV-DO network, and BroadbandAccess and V CAST from Verizon Wireless bring music, video and broadband data to mobile customers.
Ongoing Expense Savings From Fiber
Verizon said it expects to realize savings of approximately $1 billion in annual, ongoing operating expenses by 2010 as a result of the efficiencies gained from fiber network facilities.
Meanwhile, capital expenditures necessary to pass and connect a home to Verizon's fiber network continue to decline. Last month, average capital expenditures to pass a home were $873, less than the previously announced year-end 2006 goal of $890. The new year-end target is $850. Although expenditures to connect a home have steadily declined from an average of $1,220 in January 2006, last month these expenditures averaged approximately $933, higher than the previously announced year-end 2006 goal of $715. The new year-end target is $880.
By 2010, these expenditures are expected to average $700 to pass a home and $650 to connect a home.
Bob Mudge, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Verizon Telecom, said, "We are extremely confident in our ability to meet these capex targets, based on lower material costs, new and improved technologies, and training and productivity improvements. We are already seeing improved operational efficiency from our fiber deployment."
* NOTE: Mbps speeds reflect initial connection speeds between a computer and Verizon's central office. Actual throughput speeds will vary based on numerous factors, including network and Internet congestion and the speed of websites visited on the Internet.


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America's favorite comfort food, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese has unveiled a new look after 85 years.
Related: Bring on the Cheese! These 60 Puns About Cheddar, Swiss, Brie and Others Are as Cheesy As They Get
KraftHeinz announced in a press release on June 22, 2022, that the iconic blue box is getting a new look!
The brand will be changing its name from Kraft Macaroni and Cheese to Kraft Mac & Cheese. The company says, "the change from “macaroni and cheese” to “mac & cheese” is meant to reflect the way fans organically talk about the brand."
Along with the name change, the blue box now features one single color of blue with the eye-catching noodle smile that everybody knows and loves dripping with even more cheesy deliciousness.
Related: Jessica Seinfeld’s Vegan Mac ’n’ Cheese Will Please *Everyone* at Your Dinner Table
The brand says the change was inspired by people who believe comfort is the key to feeling good. Brand Manager Victoria Lee said, “We know that people aren’t turning to comfort food as a guilty pleasure, they are positively embracing comfort, saying yes to feeling good, saying yes to caring for themselves."
She continued, “There is a familiar, crave-able, positive comfort to Kraft Mac & Cheese that makes it so special and iconic to millions of people across the world and our new look is a reflection of what our brand means to our consumers.”
Related: You Make Me Melt! The 10 Best Cheeses For Grilled Cheese
The verified Kraft Mac & Cheese Twitter account shared the name change through a fan's tweet stating, "Kraft has announced that their classic product shall henceforth be known as Kraft Mac & Cheese. Now it will only be called Kraft Macaroni & Cheese when its mother is angry at it. @kraftmacncheese"
The statement says that the brand will update its social media with the new logo this summer, and the new box is set to hit the shelves in August of this year.


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April 14, 2004 |
Safeway Inc.'s board of directors is recommending that shareholders vote against proposals that seek to separate the posts of chairman and chief executive held by Steven Burd, a government filing said Tuesday. The board of Pleasanton, Calif.
April 16, 2003 |
Supermarket giant Safeway Inc. on Tuesday warned of a lower-than-expected profit in its fiscal first quarter, a result of slumping sales, lower margins and higher expenses. The Pleasanton, Calif.-based company, which operates about 1,700 stores including Vons and Pavilions in Southern California, blamed its declining profit on the high cost of streamlining its marketing efforts and continued soft sales.
February 1, 2004
Safeway Inc. execs get millions while grocery workers get the shaft ("Safeway Rewards 11 Top Execs," Jan. 26). Chief Executive Steven Burd should be ashamed, but I don't think he and his fellow executives have any feelings. After all, they've cashed in their stock and made a bundle. Now the company can fall apart. Grocery companies and grocery workers have lost too much already, more than they can ever make up. But Burd and his cohorts are raking it right into their pockets, while the employees could possibly lose their pensions, health plans and any hope they have of enjoying a decent life.
December 15, 2005 |
Vons parent Safeway Inc. said Wednesday that profit might rise as much as 15% next year as the grocery company benefited from remodeled stores. Earnings will probably climb to $1.55 to $1.65 a share, Pleasanton, Calif.-based Safeway said in a statement. The company said comparable-store sales would increase about 3% in 2006, exceeding its forecast gain of as much as 2.8% this year. Safeway, the third-largest U.S.
April 6, 2004 |
A group of disgruntled Safeway Inc. investors said they met with a majority of the company's stockholders Monday, hoping to turn up the heat on the slumping supermarket giant and force a change in command later this spring. About 55% of Safeway's outstanding shares were represented at an hourlong meeting held in New York, with 93 representatives either showing up in person or participating by telephone, said New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi, one of the meeting's leaders.
April 7, 2004 |
The Oregon Public Employees Retirement System joined the campaign to oust from the board of Safeway Inc. Chairman Steven Burd and two directors, bolstering an effort launched by four state pension funds in March. The five funds, which hold 7.5 million company shares, are protesting a 60% decline in Safeway's stock price in the last five years, directors' ties to buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and their business links to the No. 3 U.S. supermarket chain.
January 31, 2011
Your Jan. 3 story "Is It Your Boss' Business?" contains a misrepresentation about Safeway's experience controlling healthcare costs. Here are the facts straight from the source. Safeway's "all in" healthcare costs (for employees and the company) are the same today as they were five years ago, which is 33% lower than the national average increase in healthcare costs. During this period, Safeway reversed the national trend of rising obesity within our workforce and reduced the weight of that same group year-over-year.
October 14, 1998 |
Safeway Inc., further accelerating the rapid consolidation of the U.S. supermarket industry, said Tuesday that it's buying Chicago-area chain Dominick's Supermarkets Inc. for $1.2 billion in cash. By adding Dominick's 112 stores, Safeway, which also owns the Vons chain, would operate 1,490 outlets in 18 states and have annual revenue of nearly $27 billion. Safeway, based in Pleasanton, Calif.
September 27, 2002 |
Lower prices for meat and food staples, as well as consumers forsaking fancier labels for cheaper brands, caused profit at Safeway Inc. to slide 9% in its fiscal third quarter, the company said Thursday. The nation's third-largest supermarket chain, which operates under the Vons name in Southern California, reported profit of $281.3 million, or 60 cents a share, compared with $309.2 million, or 60 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 1.2% to $8.1 billion for the period ended Sept. 7.
May 4, 2005 |
Safeway Inc.'s first-quarter profit more than tripled, but its shares fell almost 5% as it warned Wall Street of a weaker-than-expected second quarter. The Pleasanton, Calif.-based owner of Vons and Pavilions stores said its net income surged to $131.3 million, or 29 cents a share, for the period ended March 26, up from $43.1 million, or 10 cents, a year earlier when it was struggling with a supermarket strike in Southern California.


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WEAR - Search Results
Burlington opening at University Town Plaza next Friday
ESCAMBIA COUNTY -- Speaking of University Town Plaza another new store will open there next month.
Burlington will open on Friday, October 11th at 9:30 am.
The retailer sells all sorts of clothes, shoes, jewelry, kitchen ware and more.


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The Democrats have violently lurched to the hard Left.
And they are dragging much of society with them.
Now the Biden administration just enacted one DEADLY policy in response to a landmark Supreme Court decision.
Democrats lashed out in hysterical fashion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs decision and returned abortion to the individual states.
Democrats acted as if Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale was underway.
Leftist terrorists have firebombed and vandalized dozens of crisis pregnancy centers and churches, while the base of the party has moved to make abortion easier in all states, including states with strict abortion laws.
Now the FDA has allowed retail pharmacies to sell the abortion pill.
Walgreens was first to announce they would be greedily selling the product.
The New York Times reported that “[f]or the first time, retail pharmacies, from corner drugstores to major chains like CVS and Walgreens, will be allowed to offer abortion pills in the United States under a regulatory change made Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration. The action could significantly expand access to abortion through medication. Until now, mifepristone — the first pill used in the two-drug medication abortion regimen — could be dispensed only by a few mail-order pharmacies or by specially certified doctors or clinics.”
Meanwhile, Walgreens stores in San Francisco are shutting down because neither the company nor local politicians will do anything substantive to handle the massive shoplifting problem.
Walgreens has completely surrendered to leftist ideology.
Pro-life advocate Lila Rose said, “The FDA will allow pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS to hand out the deadly abortion pill. Disgusting that pharmacists will now be dispensing lethal poison alongside antibiotics and allergy medication.”
The FDA move comes months after Attorney General Merrick Garland broke protocol and issued a memo in response to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling.
Garland wrote in a statement, “The Justice Department strongly disagrees with the court’s decision . . . This decision deals a devastating blow to reproductive freedom in the United States . . . It is a right that women have relied on, and are continuing to rely on . . . If precedent means anything, it means that we continue to honor rights that a series of Supreme Courts, even with different members, have continued to uphold . . . States may not ban Mifepristone based on disagreement with the F.D.A.’s expert judgment about its safety and efficacy.”
The country’s top cop essentially encouraged people to flout abortion laws.
Democrats have become incredibly ghoulish on the issue of abortion.
“Safe, legal, and rare” has been subsumed by the outright promotion of abortion as “healthcare,” as if it were simple as taking an aspirin for a headache.
Stay tuned to Right News Wire for any updates to this ongoing story.


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Below is information on each of the recalled product's labels.
The release added there is a slight possibility that a higher potency could cause infants to develop permanent renal or kidney injuries.
Walmart sells the recalled product under the "Equate" label and the National Drug Code (NDC) 49035-125-23; the products being withdrawn have the lot numbers 00717009A, 00717015A and 00717024A on their label.
"Wholesalers and retailers of the product should stop further distribution of the affected lots of Ibuprofen Concentrated Oral Suspension, USP (NSAID) 50 mg per 1.25 mL, which are being recalled".More news: Travis Scott slams rumors he cheated on Kylie Jenner
The recalled products sold at Walmart had expiration dates of February 2019, April 2019 and August 2019, while those made for CVS and Family Dollar expire in August 2019.
According to Tris Pharma, they have not received any reports of adverse effects.
If infants ingest too much ibuprofen, they can suffer from nausea, vomiting, gastric pain or diarrhea. And in Family Dollar, the recalled lot is 00717024A (expiry 08/19).
The company said customers who have experienced health issues should contact a doctor or health care professional.
Any consumers with questions or concerns are urged to contact Tris Customer Service at 732-940-0358 (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. ET- 5 p.m. PT) or via email at email@example.com.


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Aziz Ansari brings his newest stand-up special exclusively to Netflix
See the original posting on The Verge
Comedian and Parks & Rec star Aziz Ansari will join forces with Netflix to release his newest comedy special, Variety reports. Aziz Ansari: Live at Madison Square Garden will be available exclusively on Netflix beginning March 6th.
Available March 6th
This isn’t the first time Ansari has teamed up with Netflix. His 2013 special Buried Alive debuted with the streaming service, but was later available as a $5 download (something Louie C.K. knows a thing or two about). According to Variety, Live At Madison Square Garden tackles topics like gender inequality and the food industry. The 50 Cent grapefruit joke is dead.
Netflix’s current comedy selection is pretty stacked. Right now, you can stream stand-up specials from the likes of…


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Search engine Google has launched a portal to connect literacy organisations around the world.
The project aims to pool literacy information
The Literacy Project enables teachers, organisations, and those interested in literacy to use the internet to search for and share literacy information.
The new online service was announced at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany.
Users can search for information in digitised books and academic articles, and share information through blogs, videos and groups.
The tool also allows people to find literacy organisations around the world using a searchable and zoomable map.
It has been created in collaboration with the Frankfurt Book Fair literacy campaign (Litcam) and Unesco's Institute for Lifelong Learning.
Jessica Powell, European corporate communications manager at Google, said: "Our objective at Google is to organise the world's information and to make it accessible to everyone.
"We think the internet has an important role to play in terms of accessing information."
This was especially important for areas such as literacy, she added.
Karin Plötz, from Litcam, said: "A global problem deserves a global solution, and we believe that cooperation and the sharing of best practices is key in the fight against illiteracy."
The move ties in with the search engine giant's foray into the literary world: Google Book Search.
Users can now use it to search through an archive of digitised books to uncover the literature that contains their words of phrases of choice.
Publishers, such as Penguin and HarperCollins, and libraries, including Oxford University's, have allowed Google to scan their books.
If the book is in copyright, users can only access limited information; if it is out of copyright, it can be downloaded.
But it is not without its critics. Some believe Google is infringing copyright law by digitising works without the copyright holders' permission, in fact the Authors Guild of America, the Association of American Publishers and publishing company La Martiniere is suing the company.
But the search engine claims that by only revealing snippets of text, no copyright is being violated.


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China Unicom (CHU) has begun to set foot in the new value-added service sector by launching a mobile phone newspaper in cooperation with People's Daily.
Li Zhengmao, vice president of China Unicom, says that the People's Daily-China Unicom Mobile Phone Newspaper is based on China Unicom's mobile phone platform and it is similar to reading news online. Li says that the service is available to China Unicom's CDMA users after they download relevant software.
At present, the cost of the new service is CNY5 per month, and China Unicom and People's Daily will share the income from this service.
China Unicom disclosed that it is discussing with People's Daily on introducing the latter's affiliated newspapers like Global Times and Beijing Times to mobile phone users soon.