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Timberland’s Swartz Says Shoe Manufacturers Need Green Standard
Shoe companies have yet to adopt the greenest methods for making, transporting and selling shoes, even though the technologies are readily available, Jeffrey Swartz, the chief executive of Timberland, said in a New York Times interview.
Swartz said the industry will only make environmental progress if companies agree to an industry standard for greenness and use their combined clout to get their suppliers to meet it.
But even though Timberland has taken a proactive approach to green issues, Swartz said he’s reluctant to make the first call to his counterparts: “Our competitors are so much bigger than we are, and that makes me reluctant to place the call.”
He would like to see the industry decide on a plan of action for reducing energy use and emissions in manufacturing, and then approach the major global shoe manufacturers with it. “We need to go as an industry and say, ‘We’ll invest with you to explore greener energy,'” Swartz said.
In addition, Swartz said that the industry hasn’t positioned environmental attributes as aspirational. “The result is that people may think of green shoes as things that they should buy, but not necessarily as things that they want to buy,” Swartz said.
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April 19, 2013 |
Corner stores are a staple in poor neighborhoods, where large supermarkets find it economically unfeasible to flourish. The problem has long been that small groceries aren't known for fresh fruits and vegetables. That has left an impoverished population bereft of good food, compelled to live in so-called food deserts. But Philadelphia's Food Trust, a nationally recognized nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that everyone has access to nutritious food, has been working to change that.
August 18, 2012 |
As the sun set Thursday evening over Germantown Avenue, hungry visitors formed lines dozens deep for local food of all types: caramel ice cream, biscuit sandwiches, pizza baked in a mobile oven. The event, dubbed the "Mount Airy Edition," was the seventh in the Night Market Philadelphia series put on by the Food Trust, a city nonprofit. Other Night Market events have taken place in East Passyunk, Chinatown, and University City. Mount Airy, which hosted a Night Market last August, was the first repeat location.
May 22, 2015 |
The West Philadelphia homeless shelter Jane Addams Place is housed in a converted church that's crumbling around its residents - on a recent count, 34 mothers, 73 kids, and untold mice. But down in the kitchen, staffers opened a massive refrigerator to reveal an unexpected bounty: white asparagus, eggplant, arugula, cabbage, fresh herbs, and carrots in exotic purples and yellows. It represents a bold attempt to change one of the most demoralizing aspects of shelter life: the food.
September 15, 2011
People who are eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - SNAP, formerly known as food stamps - have two ways to make the most of their purchasing power. One is Philly Food Bucks, a program of the Food Trust. Shoppers who spend $5 on produce at one of the more than 25 farmer's markets operated by the Food Trust get a $2 Philly Food Buck in return, on the spot. A list of those markets is at www.thefoodtrust.org . Or call the Food Trust at 215-575-0444. The other program, Double Dollars, is available only at the Fair Food Farmstand in the Reading Terminal Market.
July 29, 2011 |
WHEN SLEIGHTON Farm School for adjudicated youth closed in 2001, Arnett Woodall, a teacher's aide at the Delaware County facility for 17 years, started a landscaping/construction business and dreamed of building a fresh-produce store in his produce-starved West Philadelphia neighborhood. He bought a vacant lot in 2004 and put everything he had into his dream - life savings, a home-equity loan, the sweat from him and his teenage son, Devante. Finally, after seven years of building while working two jobs, he finished West Phillie Produce, on 62nd Street near Ludlow, in summer 2009.
July 5, 2010 |
In the bleak cityscape of Philadelphia's poorer neighborhoods, the corner store is both convenience and curse, stocking milk and cheese, as well as junk food and cigarettes. Thanks to federal stimulus money recently pumped into the city, such stores may also start carrying healthier foods, like fresh produce. In March, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced awards of more than $372 million to 44 communities to combat obesity and smoking. Philadelphia's share - $15 million to battle obesity and $10.4 million toward smoking cessation over two years - was disbursed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
June 21, 2013 |
It's farmer's market season once again, and Ben Bergman has much to celebrate. Not just the opening of about 65 markets in the Philadelphia/South Jersey region, but a brand-new one in his own neighborhood of Parkwood, in the city's Far Northeast. This is an area known for its many supermarkets, maybe, but not for its fresh produce. Until Parkwood debuted on May 18 in the Third Reformed Presbyterian Church parking lot at Byberry and Barbary Roads, there were only three farmer's markets in the vast expanse north of Bridge and Pratt Streets.
August 6, 2010 |
On Thursdays, fresh fruit is now only steps away from the home of Dominique Wilder, 38, a mother of four in the Norris Square community of North Philadelphia. A tiny farmers market opened at Susquehanna Avenue and North Howard Street on Thursday, offering fresh produce - from apples to zucchini - to a community that does not have much access to healthy groceries. "Several markets have left the neighborhood in the last few years. It's impossible to get fresh products around here," Wilder said.
August 26, 2011 |
Philly Food Bucks, a pilot program aimed at getting food stamp recipients to buy more fresh produce at neighborhood farmers' markets, has proved incredibly successful, according to figures released Thursday by the city Department of Public Health, which sponsors the program as part of its efforts to combat obesity. Food bucks "make my food dollars go further," said Bijou McIntosh, 28, who was shopping near her home Thursday at the Clark Park market. "This food is healthier, and it tastes better," said McIntosh, her bag stuffed with parsley, bread, onions, potatoes, and chicken.

domain: news


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(PRWEB UK) 1 September 2015
Award winning Better Bathrooms, the UK’s largest independent Bathroom and Tiles retailer, has launched today a new national TV advert. The 30-second commercial, titled ‘A Lot Better’ is part of a multi-million pound advertising campaign, and will be supported online and on social media platforms.
The advert focuses on creating the perfect bathroom, and promotes Better Bathrooms services including, nationwide showrooms, online prices in-store, user-friendly website and an in-house delivery fleet which puts the customers first.
Following on from another successful year, with growth up by 30%, the now nationwide company wants to reach even more customers and help them create their own Better Bathroom. Over the last two years, Better Bathrooms has opened showrooms in Cardiff, Didcot, Leicester, Romford, Slough and York and is set two open two new impressive showrooms in Edinburgh (Sept 2015) and Birmingham (Dec 2015) – with even more planned for 2016.
Specialising in offering customers the very best value within such a highly competitive industry, Better Bathrooms’ business model has remained the same from day one, keeping strong with their company slogan of ‘Better Prices, Better Service, Better Bathrooms’.
CEO and Founder of http://www.betterbathrooms.com Colin Stevens, who was directly involved in the new advert, said “We wanted an advert that showcased our products and the great service we offer as that is what the customer is looking for. TV advertising has been very successful for us, and this new commercial highlights all the areas we excel in. I am really happy with this advert and cannot wait to see it on TV tonight”.
The sector leading company, has won 27 awards and has recently been shortlisted in the 2015 Lloyds Bank National Business Awards, in the UKTI Growth Business of the Year category and in the Employer of the Year category.
Customers can buy from Better Bathrooms, online, over the phone or in one of their showrooms and trade counters in Birmingham (Dec 2015), Cardiff, Didcot, Edinburgh (Sept 2015), Manchester, Leicester, Leigh, Romford, Slough, Warrington, Wigan, and York.
The advert will air across ITV, Skymedia and UKTV from 1st September 2015


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- The import and export turnover of commodities from Vietnam to Myanmar declined by 12% in the first ten months of 2021 compared to the same period the previous year.
- Commercial investments in Myanmar have been reduced as a result of Covid-19 limitations and political instability, and foreign cash is scarce.
- Vietnamese goods have long invaded Myanmar, establishing a brand and a presence in this market, and receiving a lot of affection in terms of both quality and price.
There are challenges in exporting goods to Myanmar.
Myanmar, a country of over 60 million people, must import the majority of consumer and industrial products. Indeed, this is an appealing market for Vietnam’s commodities exporters.
However, since Myanmar’s simultaneous crises of a coup d’etat and the Covid-19 epidemic, the trading situation between Vietnam and Myanmar has deteriorated, with the export value of commodities from Vietnam to Myanmar decreasing.
According to Mr. Nguyen Duong Kien, Head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Myanmar, the import and export turnover of commodities from Vietnam to Myanmar declined by 12% in the first ten months of 2021 compared to the same time last year. For that , Vietnam’s exports to Myanmar totaled 321 million USD, a 41 percent decrease, while Myanmar’s imports into Vietnam totaled 318 million USD, a 77 percent increase.
Due to the statewide Covid-19 limitations and the complex political climate, commercial investments in Myanmar have reduced dramatically. The situation became worse when also in this situation, Myanmar fell into a scarcity of foreign currency. As a result, the government of this country has made a series of policies to ban imports and rigorously oversee various businesses. The oscillations in the economy and finance have disturbed the supply chain to the Myanmar market, people’s living standards have plunged, and the trend of frugal spending has risen.
Myanmar’s export market remains very potential
However, in recent years, owing to the execution of various reform and opening measures connected to trade and investment in order to establish a sustainable economy, Myanmar’s market has grown increasingly appealing , enticing a huge number of Vietnamese firms to do business and conduct business. Furthermore, pursuant to ASEAN commitments, most items exported to Myanmar presently receive advantageous tax rates ranging from 1 to 5%.
Myanmar is a potential market for Vietnamese groups, goods, and services such as transportation and spare parts, electric wires and cables, raw materials for textiles, leather, and footwear, chemical products, food and food processing materials, electronic and electrical household goods, iron and steel and iron and steel products, construction, information technology, telecommunications, and so on.
Furthermore, according to Mr. Nguyen Duong Kien, Myanmar has a poor manufacturing base, few technological impediments, and a lifestyle and purchasing patterns comparable to Vietnamese people.
Furthermore, Vietnamese goods have long invaded Myanmar, establishing a brand and a presence in this market, and receiving a lot of affection in terms of both quality and price. Several promises have been made, including the fact that when the situation in Myanmar stabilizes, Vietnamese enterprises will have many advantages in properly exploiting this market.
Supply chains unravel as Myanmar military escalates retaliation to protests


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The Canadian government will ban a range of single-use plastics as early as 2021 in a move to reduce ocean waste, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced.
Working with authorities and businesses across Canada, the government will look to ban ‘harmful’ single-use products such as plastic bags, straws, cutlery, plates and stir sticks, and will take other steps to reduce pollution from plastic products and packaging.
The government said it will also aim to introduce standards and targets for companies that manufacture plastic products or sell items with plastic packaging so they become responsible for their plastic waste.
Currently, less than 10% of plastic used in Canada gets recycled. A statement from the Prime Minister’s office said that without a change in course, Canadians will throw away an estimated CAD 11 billion ($8.29 billion) worth of plastic materials each year by 2030.
“Canadians know first-hand the impacts of plastic pollution and are tired of seeing their beaches, parks, streets and shorelines littered with plastic waste,” said Justin Trudeau.
“We have a responsibility to work with our partners to reduce plastic pollution, protect the environment, and create jobs and grow our economy. We owe it to our kids to keep the environment clean and safe for generations to come.”
Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson added: “The health of our oceans is vital to the economic, cultural and social wellbeing of Canada’s coastal communities. We know plastic pollution harms Canada’s oceans, wildlife, communities – and our economy. It’s a problem we simply can’t afford to ignore.
“We are working with industry to prevent and remove ghost fishing gear, to protect marine animals and the marine environment now and for future generations.”
A statement from Justin Trudeau’s office said that by improving the management of plastic waste and investing in innovative solutions, it will be possible to reduce 1.8 million tonnes of carbon pollution and create approximately 42,000 jobs.
The proposed measures and will align, where appropriate, with similar actions being taken in the European Union (EU) and other countries.
Under plans adopted by the European Parliament last year, single-use plastic items such as plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks and cotton buds will be banned in the EU from 2021.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2020
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Don’t miss out on having your innovations recognised on a global scale.
Deadline extended to 18 September – enter now!


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While the pandemic posed as a challenge for most of the industries out there, the gaming industry seems to have grown immensely during this period.
With most people stuck at home with some extra time on their hands looking for different ways of interacting with others, many, as the stats show, turned towards gaming as a viable option.
For example, Steam- a popular PC digital game distribution platform in China, reached an all-time high count of 19.1 million users in February when the country was in lockdown.
Similarly, the gaming internet traffic in the US alone went up by 75% since the lockdown was put into effect. The game sales rose by 73% in April in the country, with other countries showing similar positive numbers.
Changes in the gaming industry post the COVID-19 pandemic-
CAGR growth in role-playing games: The global role-playing games market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.22%. Many RPG games have reported a 10% to 50% increase in engagement, especially in the markets most affected by the coronavirus.
Increasing demand for streaming games: With various countries adopting to 5G and cloud computing services, the demand for online streaming of games is at an all-time high.
The digital game distribution system will likely become bigger: With the availability of physical copies of games being impacted during this period, the digital storefronts took the lead. Even the biggest fans of physical media had to turn towards platforms like Steam, Xbox Live, and PlayStation Network to get their gaming fix.
Remote game developing teams are the new normal: What seemed almost impossible for most gaming companies a few months ago is a reality now. Putting the question marks over effective collaboration and creative outputs to an end, many gaming companies have thrived while working remotely during this pandemic. The answer is clear: Geographical distance and barriers are no longer a deciding factor.
Promising markets experienced accelerated growth: While the gaming scenario improved worldwide, it was the promising markets like India that saw exponential growth.
With over 75% Indians using the internet every day, benefiting from the cheapest data rates in the world (1GB of 4G = $0.09), utilizing frictionless payments, and 450M+ game-ready smartphones, the market already showed a lot of potential.
After the lockdown was announced, the number of active gamers increased from 53% in March 2020 to 67% in just one month. Reports suggest that there was a 41% rise in time spent playing online games.
Platforms like Gamerji registered a spike in its daily active users from 12,000-15,000 pre-pandemic to 40,000-50,000 in this period. Paytm First Games growth increased by 200% and the platform observed 75,000 new users joining daily.
Interestingly, casual games like Rummy, Ludo, Pool, and Snake Wars saw the maximum traction with the number of users doubling per week. Mobile game downloads significantly increased in April and peaked at 197 million in a single week, 75% more than the previous quarter’s weekly average.
This current market scenario creates the perfect time for expanding your gaming company and starting an offshore team in India. With the remote working scenario being the new normal, you can stay assured of the productive capacities of your team as well.
We at Braves can help you set up your mini game studio in India without any hassles.
If you are ready to up your game, contact us today.


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While Apple has been pretty quiet when it came to releasing major new hardware during the first half of 2013 (so far all they’ve released is an updated iPod Touch 16GB and an updated MacBook Air with amazing battery life), that hasn’t stopped the rumors about the next iPhone, the “iPhone 5S.” Over the past two weeks rumors on this next iPhone have really picked up and it seems we may have even finally gotten the first pictures of the 5S (or whatever it will be called). And as many would have guessed, it looks a lot like the iPhone 5.
The rumored new flash on the iPhone 5S
These new 5S pictures come from MacRumors and while they show a design that’s practically identical to the iPhone 5 there are already a few interesting pieces worth noting. Assuming these are legit, it looks like the 5S will have a slightly bigger battery than the 5 (about 8%-9% bigger or 5.92 Whr compared to the 5.45 Whr on the 5– hopefully this will mean better battery life), while running a new processor (possibly the A7) and will sport a second, different colored flash that will supposedly make low-light pictures look a lot better. That is all that seems to be noticeable from these leaked 5S pictures, though other reports– like this one from Reuters— say that the 5S will come in multiple colors with new features like a fingerprint scanner and a bigger screen (we obviously can’t tell any of that from these pictures).
Now we know that some of you are thinking that it’s a bit early for iPhone 5S leaks, it is possible these are legitimate pictures of the 5S once you consider how long it takes for Apple to make the millions of phones it needs for a new iPhone launch. Apple needs to start mass producing these phones months before they go on sale, so around this time would make sense if a new iPhone is really coming this fall. Of course it’s also important to remember that these are just rumors and since Apple hasn’t confirmed anything about any new iPhone all of this might be wrong and the next iPhone might be completely different from these rumors. Basically, take all of this with a grain of salt.
The next iPhone is expected to be released this fall (around September/October just like the 4S and 5 were) and you can bet that as we get closer to that time we’ll be seeing a lot more rumors like these. In the meantime, what do you want to see in the next iPhone?
We know a lot of you are really excited to learn more about this rumored Sprint iPhone said to be coming in October. While these are still just a couple of rumors, combined with what we learned from the Wall Street Journal things are looking even better for the iPhone 5 coming next month— and that it’s also coming to Sprint.
Today’s iPhone 5 rumors come from two of the top tech sites out there, This Is My Next and BGR, and both have received different tips that Best Buy is planning for some big Apple launch next month. According to the tip sent into This Is My Next, Apple will be installing some big “fixtures” (think signs, posters, demo stands) in Best Buy stores on October 21st (which is the date that makes the most sense to us and fits in with other rumors of a middle of October launch). What’s important to know about this is that its similar to what they did last summer for the iPhone 4 launch. BGR on the other hand has a separate Best Buy tip saying not only that Sprint is getting the iPhone 5 (in addition to AT&T and Verizon and we think T-Mobile– it just makes sense and we don’t see why Apple wouldn’t do it), but pre-orders may begin as soon as this week (with the iPhone going on sale on October 1st. We don’t think is happening seeing as Apple has yet to send out invites for an iPhone 5 event, something which isn’t expected to happen until later this month or early next month. But hey, we wouldn’t mind if they started this week!).
And as the BGR tip notes, and we want to stress again: these dates are very much subject to change. Remember, these are all still very much just rumors and not officially confirmed by Apple, Best Buy, Sprint or anyone else. But two different Best Buys saying the iPhone 5 is coming in October, and the Wall Street Journal saying the same thing two weeks ago, makes us really think that we’re getting really close.
We’ll of course keep you updated as more iPhone 5 info comes out, so stay tuned!


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MON, OCT 22, 2018 10:23am
Allianz Global Assistance, a leading distributor of travel protection products and services*, has introduced artificial intelligence technology into its third-generation insurance personalization platform known as Fusion CORE. The company believes artificial intelligence is the key to unlocking the value that truly personalized offers can provide to customers and clients. Personalization driven by artificial intelligence allows travel providers using the company’s platform to deliver the products and services that best resonate with an individual consumer, increasing both partner revenue and customer satisfaction.
The CORE platform uses machine learning and predictive analytics to enhance customer experience and maximize ancillary revenue for some of the world’s leading travel suppliers by tailoring product offerings to better meet customer needs based on their itinerary. Allianz expects that increased personalization driven by artificial intelligence will be a key differentiator for its ecommerce partners. Developed by Allianz ecommerce company Fusion, the CORE platform delivers world-class intelligence and marketing sophistication to partners around the globe.
“We’re proud to have pioneered the use of real time A/B and multivariate testing and personalization in the travel market, and we’ve taken another step in our insurance innovation leadership by introducing machine learning into the platform,” said Mike Nelson, CEO of Global Travel Insurance at Allianz Global Assistance USA. “By incorporating artificial intelligence into our CORE platform, we’re able to improve personalization and scale it for millions of unique offers. This provides the best possible products and experiences for consumers and enhances revenue opportunities for our partners.”
Allianz will deploy further advancements to its platform later this year that will use artificial intelligence to dynamically take into account the full context of the consumer’s trip, which will help to deliver the most appropriate product. The company will roll out the next iteration of its artificial intelligence-powered platform in early 2019, which will pair consumer information with relevant product components, leading to further offer personalization.
“Not only have we developed an ambitious artificial intelligence roadmap, but we’re already speeding down that road,” said Bob Dufour, CEO of Fusion Company. “While other insurance companies are still trying to figure out how to best use artificial intelligence to drive ecommerce sales, we have successfully deployed AI to deliver highly personalized offers to consumers with dramatic improvements in insurance conversion rates. Research shows that consumers are four times more likely** to accept a personalized offer, so the opportunity for our partners is significant.”
The new platform excels in personalizing offers in an increasingly complex ancillary revenue environment. It works across multiple channels (app, web, call center, mobile and email) and locations (booking path, check-in, managed reservations, etc.), and takes into account seasonal pricing and content variations. It also maximizes offer performance by selecting products based on the specific attributes of the customer and their trip. The platform uses proprietary algorithms and accelerates the testing process by allowing for fast, mass-processing of data and removes behavioral bias in results and is available globally, accommodating multiple languages and currencies.


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Global gaming supplier Shuffle Master Inc. announced on Monday that it has officially reached a deal to obtain the Ongame Network from bwin.party for €19.5m. The deal will also pay “pwin” up to an additional €10m over a five year period following “the commencement of legalized, real-money online poker in the US.”
“The acquisition of Ongame will provide Shuffle Master with world class poker software and an entire enterprise with proven skills and the operational experience that will permit us to begin immediately offering state-of-the-art B2B online products following the closing of the acquisition,” said Shuffle Master’s Chief Strategy Officer Louis Castle.
Additional contingencies include the “completion of certain conditions” such as regulatory approvals “and is expected to close within not more than nine months following execution of the definitive agreement.” Shuffle Master is thought to be one of the applicants for a license to operate in Nevada.
“Poker is a natural fit for our table-centric online offerings and our many jurisdictional licenses present a compelling opportunity for our current and future online customers.”
bwin.party has been trying to sell the network for over seven months, hoping to complete a sale by the end of 2011. However, it announced to shareholders in December that, although the sale was in an “advanced stage,” it would not be completed until 2012. Shuffle Master has been rumored as an interested party for months, and pokerfuse exclusively revealed the deal was close to its conclusion in February.
The network is currently ranked fifth for international poker networks on independent network tracking site PokerScout, and sixth overall. Although traffic will decline notably when bwin players are transitioned, Ongame is an attractive software purchase, with desktop platforms on Windows and Mac and mobile apps on Apple iOS and Android. It also holds licenses to operate poker rooms in the regulated markets of France, Italy and Denmark.


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Coimbatore, July 22: At a time when road accidents are on the rise, the City based Bannari Infotech has come up with a road speed limiter.
The New Indian Express, Friday July 23, 2004 .
It took 10 months to develop the speed limiter, an electro-mechanical control device, that would not allow the drivers to exceed a preset speed limit, said K S Sundara Raman, managing director, Bannari Infotech."There will be. no driver fatigue, no jerks, no loss of control and is tamper resistant," he said adding that the device has been certified by Automobile Research Association of India, Pune.
"The product has a huge market as speed control devices are being made mandatory for vehicles by amending the Motor Vehicles Act", he said.
A couple of states are already in the process of implementing the device for heavy vehicles.
The device, designed to suit Indian road conditions, would be retailed at around Rs 17,000, comparatively lower than other devices available in the market. Pricol is the only other Indian company to produce speed limiters.
"Apart from saving lives, the device increases fuel efficiency by 10 percent," he said.


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Kaunas, Lithuania – July 28, 2021 – The leading Lithuanian identity verification service provider, iDenfy, and Polish fintech and banking software solutions provider, Paymento Financial SA, collaborates to enhance the security of Paymento services and customer satisfaction. The identity verification service also enables swift and error-free extraction of KYC (Know Your Customer) details.
Paymento Financial SA chose iDenfy due to positive traits such as the identity verification service’s quality, confidentiality, reliability, ability to integrate seamlessly, and especially the AI and biometric technologies used to verify customer identities. Andrzej Poniński, CEO of Paymento Financial SA, added, “Since our launch, we strive to provide banks and financial institutions with a product to help them enter the payment business. It requires a smooth and automated verification process, which the iDenfy software provides. Thanks to this innovative software, we will be able to enhance our customer experience and streamline the process of onboarding new customers.”
The iDenfy manual human verification team that works around the clock emphasizes the importance given by the company towards maintaining accuracy and fraud detection. iDenfy CEO Domantas Ciulde, added, “We are pleased to be partnering with Paymento Financial SA. Their wide range of FinTech solutions are designed for the modern world of e-commerce, which makes identity verification a crucial aspect in keeping fraudulent activity to a minimum. Our software will help them to undertake these check-ins real-time, improving both security and overall customer experience.”
iDenfy identity verification could expedite the customer onboarding process exponentially with a high rate of accuracy. The identity verification service accepts 1500+ documents from 200+ countries ensuring Paymento Financial SA could serve a diversified global clientele. The company could also save up to 40% in the process. A customer could submit biometrics and ID details in 4 simple steps – select a country from the list, select the ID document type, capture a front image of the ID, and snap a clear selfie. Within a mere 0.02 seconds, iDenfy will extract the required details from the ID, where the facial recognition service will make sure all anomalies are detected within 0.05 seconds with a 98.4% success rate. Captured details will be subjected to a rigorous verification test and analysis process to detect fraud, inconsistencies, spoofing, and montage. Each new customer will also get cross-checked against the Interpol, government, lost document, and politically exposed persons databases, which helps to ensure the fintech and banking services of Paymento Financial SA are not utilized for money laundering or any other criminal activities.
iDenfy provides online identity verification services for the financial, sharing-economy, and gaming industries. iDenfy was awarded “Startup of Lithuania” in 2018. In 2019 became ‘Startup of the Kaunas City’ and in 2020 won the ‘Fintech Startup Of The Year Award’.
For more information and business inquiries, please visit www.idenfy.com.


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FILE – In this Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019, file photograph, an unsold 2019 S75D sits at a Tesla dealership in Littleton, Colo. Rising trade tensions have sparked worries about the 17 exotic-sounding rare minerals needed for high-tech products like robotics, drones and electric cars. China recently raised tariffs to 25% on rare earth exports to the U.S. and has threatened to halt exports altogether after the Trump administration raised tariffs on Chinese products and blacklisted telecommunications giant Huawei. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
A Tesla crashed into a Florida home Friday, killing two people and seriously injuring three others, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
Officials said the car was reportedly not on autopilot when the 43-year-old driver sped through a stop sign, hit a curb that sent it airborne and later crashed into the home. A 69-year-old woman who resided at the Palm Harbor home was killed.
One of the vehicles passengers also died at the hospital, said FHP’s Sergeant Steve Gaskins.
The driver and two other passengers were seriously injured.


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Japan PM warns of euro crisis chain reaction
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda warned that the eurozone debt crisis could trigger a chain reaction throughout the world as leaders of top economies gathered Thursday for a summit.
"In Europe, we need to avoid a chain reaction triggered by the budgetary problems in certain countries," Noda said at a business round table before the opening of the summit of leaders of the Group of 20 largest economies.
"This situation has a large impact on the real economy in Europe and outside of Europe, in emerging countries."
He said governments need to stand ready to inject money into banks and other institutions in order to prevent the financial system from collapsing.
"You can't let the financial sector collapse," said the prime minister. "You can't let the real economy suffer excessively."
Noda also warned sharp financial flows sparked by the crisis will have a considerable impact on emerging countries, which he noted have an increasingly important role in supporting global growth.
If "financial institutions pull out their funds from emerging countries it is the entire world economy that will suffer," he said, calling for stable exchange rates.
© 2011 AFP


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Industry Super Australia has announced it will “up the ante” on its television advertising activity to “boost awareness” among consumers about the proposed changes to FOFA.
In a statement issued today, ISA announced that Industry SuperFunds has launched a new version of the ‘Compare the Pair’ advertising campaign, which it says has been one of the “finance sector’s most influential consumer awareness campaigns”.
The increased advertising activity comes “amidst government proposals to wind-back key elements” of the FOFA reforms, the statement says.
“The prospect of weakened consumer protection just serves to strengthen the case for boosting Australians’ awareness about how they can protect and grow their super savings,” said ISA chief David Whiteley.
“Allowing financial advisers to once receive a range of sales commissions will eat into the savings of many Australians, and that’s something consumers should take into account when they’re thinking about which fund offers the best performance.”
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13 Dec 2017Proposed ASIC penalties inappropriate: FPABy Staff Reporter
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13 Dec 2017CBA's Ricky Gillespie gets $3K wrist slapBy Aleks Vickovich
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Despite all the concerns over data privacy and controversial content, brands are spending more on Facebook than ever.
Can Tinder stay relevant if it forces users directly on their site instead of Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store?
Storm clouds are on the horizon for the dominant player in the video streaming space.
Another year, another record breaking Amazon Prime Day. Let’s go inside the numbers . . .
For the second year in a row a tech breakdown dents Amazon’s Big Day.
The Supreme Court green lights individual lawsuits against Apple for its alleged App Store monopoly. How will Apple react?
Ahead of the NewFronts, Snap launches a new product tier for selling premium ads to better compete with Google and Facebook.
Once again Amazon posts better than expected revenue, which drives profits through the roof.
It looks like Twitter has turned the recovery corner and is accelerating into full growth mode.
Details are finally coming out about why Instagram’s founders resigned from Facebook. Was the “hamburger button” really to blame?


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I attended the NXMW conference last night at the Innovatrium, which is on UofM‘s campus. It was a fabulous event, featuring a YCombinator vs TechStars panel and an after party at Savas restaurant in Ann Arbor. The most notable take away from the event was the speed and quality at which the UofM startup community is growing. I am always surprised by the number of new people I meet at these events who are building exciting digital media and consumer internet companies here in the manufacturing heart of the midwest.
During the event, Jeff Epstein (Zferral, TechStars Alum) and Zach Steindler (Olark, YCombinator Alum) discussed their different incubator experiences, and Ken Wohl (VP Marketing at Benzinga) did an excellent job moderating the event. Fortunately, a fight didn’t break out between TechStars and YCombinator loyalists.
This was my first entrepreneurship event outside of the b-school in months, and it was terrific to be surrounded by all of the sharp people designing products and building businesses in the Greater Detroit area. To name a few, Erick Bzovi and Lance Carlson (co-founders of HealPay) are building a financial services startup that could massively disrupt the debt collection process. Also, I was introduced to Andrew Rauh while using Highlight for the first time in a large group setting. Andrew is a rockstar iOS developer and freshman at UoM who works part-time at Detroit Labs.
Next on the Ann Arbor startup seen: TechArb demo day on April 13, 2012.


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Elon Musk's solar roof project is one of his many initiatives under Tesla that promote use of clean energy. Solar roof basically involves incorporating solar cells in roof tiles, so as to obtain a power source that replenishes itself. Tesla and Panasonic produce these solar cells for the tiles at a plant in Buffalo, New York. An idea that had so far been on paper, the solar roof tiles are now available on order. Tesla has developed a glass tile that is far more stronger than traditional terracotta or clay ones and would have a longer life. The company is actually providing an infinite warranty on the solar roof tiles.
Deliveries and installation of these textured glass and smooth tiles options will begin before the end of 2017 in the US, and by next year in the UK and Australia. With these tiles, every house will have its own power source. If the solar cell roof tiles are introduced in India and if the trend catches on, the electric car may also gain some traction in the market. There is so far no official word from Tesla if solar roof tiles will be launched in India, but if and when it does, electric mobility in India stands to benefit from it.
All-electric cars have not been on the front line in India's automobile industry. They, in fact, are very unpopular owing to lack of infrastructural backing. There are no recharge stations in the country, and hence a customer has no reason to invest in one of these. Sure, plug-in electric cars don't come cheap, but running them is actually way cheaper than cars with traditional combustion engines.
However, it is note worthy that majority of India's power supply comes from coal power plants. Hence, if we were to adapt to electric cars, it will actually be an expensive proposition for the country as coal is pricey and an exhaustive source of energy.
Here's the thing, if you had a power supply at your own house, a source that does not invite big bills or rather any bills, you might reconsider bringing home an electric car. Besides the amount required for installation of the solar roof system and perhaps some repairs at times, there is practically no other costs to worry about.
India is still far from setting up charging stations from city to city. But households that tend to maintain two or more cars – one for the city and one for longer trips – will benefit from the solar roof tile. Their city car can very well be an electric vehicle, which would also help in curbing pollution.


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Scott Meyer will depart About.com and The New York Times Co. next week after an eight year odyssey with the company. Digital chief Martin Nisenholtz and Chief Digital Architect Ron McCoy will manage the group until a replacement CEO is named. “After discussions with Martin, we’ve agreed that I’ll be stepping down from my position as President & CEO of the About Group and leaving the Times Company,” Meyer wrote in a note to staff. A spokesperson said the search for Meyer’s successor will include both internal and external candidates. PaidContent.org first reported the departure late Wednesday.
Microsoft selected Crispin Porter & Bogusky for a forthcoming consumer marketing campaign. The agency will be tasked with working on a global campaign for the software giant.
John Mueller resigned as CEO of Idearc. Mueller left the post after only eight days on the job, citing unspecified health concerns. He had replaced Kathy Harless, and will be temporarily succeeded by EVP Frank Gatto while the company seeks a permanent replacement.
Tacoda promoted Steven Stein to Northwest director of ad sales. Stein was previously manager of Northwest advertising sales for the behavioral targeting advertising network. Tacoda is a division of AOL and a Platform A company.
Network Solutions hired Travis Fore as SVP of sales. The search engine marketing and e-commerce technology provider created the position for Fore, who was previously vice president of sales and service at Citysearch.
Resolution Media hired Michael Marchese as managing director of the Midwest and West. Marchese joined the search marketing firm from Leapfrog Online where he was vice president of market development.
Zanox appointed Chris Dessi VP of advertiser sales. The online performance-based marketing firm tasked Dessi with managing its newly opened New York office.
Visible World hired Al Morris as automotive sales director. The targeted online video provider tasked Morris with establishing a Detroit office. Morris was previously a media sales executive with ESPN.
Pacifico tapped Creature to expand its brand identity. The beer brand hired the agency to create an integrated online and offline campaign.
As an organisation, finding the right marketing channels is an essential part of your marketing strategy.
2017 is the year in which CMOs are expected to outspend CIOs on technology, according to Gartner, which is no surprise given the way in which consumers of all kinds are increasingly using technology in their everyday lives.
As it prepares for a 2017 IPO that could be the largest in the social media space since Facebook went public in 2012, all eyes are on Snapchat.
Amazon Prime was launched in 2005 as an express shipping membership program and more than a decade later it has tens of millions of subscribers who enjoy a lot more than just free, fast shipping on millions of products Amazon sells.


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Petroleum marketing companies have increased the price of non-subsidized kitchen LPG cylinders by Rs 50. After this increase, the price of 14.2 kg LPG cylinder available at the market price is Rs 694. Domestic companies have raised the price of LPG for the second time this month amid rising crude prices in international markets.
With the new increase, the price of non-subsidized LPG cylinders in Kolkata is now Rs 720.50, Rs 694 in Mumbai and Rs 710 in Chennai. There is a difference in the price due to varying VAT rates at the local level. On December 1 also, petroleum companies had increased the price of LPG cylinders available at the market price.
However, the companies did not increase the price of LPG till the first December after July. Petroleum companies on Wednesday also raised the price of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) ie fuel used in aircraft by 6.3 percent. After this increase, the price of ATF has increased to Rs 49,161.16 per kiloliter.
On December 1, the price of ATF was increased by 7.6 percent. LPG consumers get 12 cylinders of 14.2 kg LPG gas a year with a subsidy. Consumers are required to pay the full price while taking the cylinder and the subsidy amount is sent directly to their bank account. However, if consumers need more than 12 cylinders in a year, then they have to buy the remaining cylinders at the market price.


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The world’s most productive real estate network is getting even stronger. Great brands evolve and RE/MAX is no different. The iconic red, white and blue hot air balloon has been updated to be brighter, more modern and more appealing to the home buyers and sellers of today – while being instantly recognizable as RE/MAX.
I started working for REMAX back in 1997, 20 years ago, as Executive Assistant to Larry Hogan, our now Maryland Governor. When I moved to Calvert County, I continued to work for top-producing agents and when I became licensed myself 10 years ago, I couldn’t imagine affiliating with any other brand or reputation.
According to Pete Crowe, RE/MAX Senior Vice President of Communications and Marketing, the responses of more than 20,000 consumers factored into the decision to embark on a brand refresh which is the first in the 44 year history of the real estate franchisor.
“It’s a brand evolution, not a brand revolution,” said Crowe. “The subtle adjustments to the most powerful image in real estate was a natural next step across our residential, luxury and commercial brands.”
The updated balloon and wordmark will help RE/MAX agents grow their business and give them an even bigger competitive advantage in digital, social media and mobile marketing.
Building on the 2016 launch of the Sign of a RE/MAX agent campaign, the brand refresh continues to grow alongside current real estate trends. For the fourth straight year, the largest group of homebuyers are millennials, who compose 34% of homebuyers.
“Buyers who are 36 years old and younger continue to purchase homes at a higher rate than other age groups,” said Crowe. “At the same time, real estate tools and technologies have drastically changed the way we help people buy and sell houses. The refreshed brand is a proactive move to continue to position RE/MAX agents as industry leaders for the home buyers and sellers of today and tomorrow.”
In the coming months, consumers will begin to see the new logo on yard signs, office fronts and advertising. In addition, the network of 115,000 agents in more than 100 countries and territories will celebrate the refreshed look with local events on a global day of celebration on September 20, including at RE/MAX headquarters in Denver. The crisp, contemporary twist on the iconic brand will also be seen on remax.com and in RE/MAX television ads starting this fall.
About the RE/MAX Network
RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger, with an innovative, entrepreneurial culture affording its agents and franchisees the flexibility to operate their businesses with great independence. Over 115,000 agents provide RE/MAX a global reach of more than 100 countries and territories. Nobody sells more real estate than RE/MAX when measured by residential transaction sides. RE/MAX, LLC, one of the world’s leading franchisors of real estate brokerage services, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of RMCO, LLC, which is controlled and managed by RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RMAX). With a passion for the communities in which its agents live and work, RE/MAX is proud to have raised more than $157 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® and other charities. For more information about RE/MAX, to search home listings or find an agent in your community, please visit www.remax.com. For the latest news about RE/MAX, please visit www.remax.com/newsroom.
Courtesy of underconsideration.com and remax.com


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The CEO of a company about to go public via SPAC is reaching out directly to Reddit as blank-check firms try new ways to keep investors interested
- The CEO of a food technology company is looking to answer questions from retail investors before his firm goes public via a
- Matt Crisp of Benson Hill announced on
- The move comes as many blank check firms struggle following their IPOs or post-SPAC mergers.
Trying to get in touch with retail investors before your company goes public? Head to Reddit's r/SPACs channel and ask them questions directly.
That's what Matt Crisp, CEO of Benson Hill did on Thursday. His food technology company will be going public in New York via a SPAC later this month, and he wants input from retail investors during the process.
"We want our food system to be driven by consumers for consumers, with a greater focus on transparency and inclusion. That's why I wanted to reach out to this community directly," Crisp said in a Reddit post.
Crisp announced that Benson Hill will be partnering with Robinhood-owned Say Technologies to respond to retail investor questions in a forum on September 17th ahead of the company's formal listing.
"Say has done a great job partnering with some interesting companies on quarterly earnings calls, and we wanted to extend the concept to address questions during the SPAC process, too, he said. "We recognize the attention paid to SPACs these days and want to leverage the platform in a positive way - which means more transparency and direct communications with a broad range of investors," said Crisp.
Benson Hill's effort to go the extra mile to connect with retail investors before its SPAC listing comes as blank-check deals struggle to gain traction. 75% of the 137 deals that closed by mid-February have fallen before their initial listing price, according to data from the Wall Street Journal.
Meanwhile, SPAC shareholders' discontent with companies is evident in the growing number of redemptions. On average, SPACs that closed in August saw 58% of shares get redeemed, according to SPAC Research data cited by DealBook.
- India's GDP grows 7.6% in September quarter, beats RBI estimates
- India's GDP grows 7.6% in July-September quarter
- 8 Delicious ways to add spinach to your breakfast
- iQOO 12 camera overview – Samples reveal photography prowess
- She power: The top 10 youngest women entrepreneurs in India


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PTDA gains more members
Chicago, IL -- Four new members have recently joined the Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA). Distri...
Chicago, IL — Four new members have recently joined the Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA). Distributor Uni-Drive Systems (S) Pte. Ltd. of Singapore joined the association during the first quarter of 2006, as did three new manufacturer members: B & B Manufacturing Inc. of La Porte, Ind.; Drive-All Manufacturing Co. of Avoca, Mich.; and Rockwell Automation/Power Systems Canada of Mississauga, Ont.
Also in the first quarter, PTDA welcomed a new educational institution associate member, Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College in New Richmond, Wis.
Founded in 1960, PTDA represents almost over 220 power transmission/motion control distributor firms with almost 3,500 locations throughout North America and 12 other countries, as well as almost 200 manufacturers that supply the PT/MC industry.
For more information, visit www.ptda.org.


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Proving she’s still capable of captivating audiences more than fifty years after her death, Marilyn Monroe was today announced as Max Factor’s new global glamour ambassador.
As the ‘new face’ of the makeup brand, Marilyn will have a starring role in Max Factor’s 2015 advertising campaign.
Marilyn, who died aged 36 in 1962, was a client of Max Factor in the 1940s and Max Factor’s son Max Factor Junior is believed to have been instrumental in her transformation from would-be starlet Norma Jeane into blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe.
Max Factor global creative design director, Pat McGrath said: ‘Marilyn made the sultry red lip, creamy skin and dramatically lined eyes the most famous beauty look of the Forties and it’s a look that continues to dominate the beauty and fashion industry.
She added: ‘It is the ultimate look that defines glamour – nothing else compares. Ruby Tuesday, inspired by one of Marilyn’s favourite Max Factor lipsticks, is still my go-to red today for an instant shot of glamour, and continues to be one of the most popular shades for both make-up artists and real women.’
It’s not the enduring star’s first posthumous beauty campaign either – she was the face of Chanel No. 5 in 2013 (famously the only thing she wore to bed). The Some Like It Hot actress also inspired a makeup range for MAC makeup in 2012.
In fact, last year, Monroe was ranked sixth in Forbes magazine’s annual list of the highest-earning dead celebrities – she makes an estimated £11m a year.
And many a modern star has attempt to harness some of that old-Hollywood Marilyn magic, from Gwyneth Paltrow and Lindsay Lohan, to Scarlett Johansson and even Angelina Jolie.
But, it seems we all still prefer the world’s most famous blonde.


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--Walgreen touts cost-savings and addition of Alliance Boots products in U.S. stores as key deal benefits
--Some are calling deal pricey and worry about exposure to Europe, which has weighed on retailers' results of late
--Walgreen's shares falling despite broader market rally, second-worst performer in the S&P 500
(Updates with details from Walgreen's conference calls, S&P ratings warning, additional background and the latest stock quote.)
By Sten Stovall and Melodie Warner
U.S. drug store owner Walgreen Co. (WAG) has agreed to buy a 45% stake in pharmacy-led health and beauty retailer Alliance Boots GmbH in a $6.7 billion cash-and-stock deal that will create the world's largest buyer of prescription drugs and will allow the company to consider expansion into emerging markets.
The deal also marks the first step toward what will be the biggest exit from a leveraged buyout for owners Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR.XX) and Alliance Boots Chairman Stefano Pessina, which took the former FTSE-100 retailer private for GBP11.02 billion in 2007, amid high hopes and grand plans for growth.
But the economic turmoil seen since 2008 hit those ambitions hard. The company's latest full-year results showed it is still struggling with a debt mountain of some GBP7 billion amid an ongoing consumer downturn that threatens to deepen.
The news sent Walgreen's shares down 6.4% to $29.93 in recent trading, making it the second-worst performer in the S&P 500 behind fellow retailer J.C. Penney Co. (JCP). Though Walgreen has touted cost-savings and the addition of Alliance Boots products in the company's U.S. stores, some are calling the deal pricey and exposure to Europe--which Walgreen gains with this deal--has weighed on retailers' results of late.
Tuesday's deal will see Walgreen initially invest about $4 billion in cash and 83.4 million shares for a 45% minority stake in Alliance Boots, owner of Europe's biggest pharmacy chain, a transaction that will give KKR back almost all of its investment in the retailer.
The U.S. buyout firm invested GBP1.2 billion in Europe's largest-ever leveraged buyout deal and will receive GBP1.2 billion back, though the exchange rate has affected KKR's return. In 2007, GBP1.2 billion cost the firm's funds $2.45 billion but is now only worth $1.8 billion, meaning KKR currently stands to make 2.2-times its money on the investment, although this is 2.7-times its money in pounds.
Mr. Pessina also put in about GBP1.2 billion and has made very similar returns to KKR, according to a person close to the deal, but he will hold most of it in Walgreen shares. Co-investors also invested a further GBP1.2 billion alongside KKR and have had a similar amount (about GBP1.2 billion) of cash returned, the person added. The total amount of equity in the deal is GBP2.6 billion, with a further GBP1.7 billion of stock.
Walgreen will have the option to buy the remaining stake in about three years for approximately $9.5 billion in cash and stock, plus the assumption of Alliance Boots then-outstanding debt.
Chief Executive Greg Wasson said Walgreen has "every intention" of completing the final stage of the deal which will leave Walgreen as a prescription drugs behemoth which combines the two retailers' fire power, generates economies of scale to cut costs, fuels growth and geographic expansion.
Walgreen expects the deal to add between 23 cents to 27 cents to adjusted earnings in the first year.
If approved by regulators, the deal would be the largest in Walgreen's history and comes on the heels of a handful of smaller acquisitions, including the purchases of New York drugstore chain Duane Reade and online retailer Drugstore.com Inc.
Walgreen executives told analysts the planned transaction wasn't in response to its rate dispute with pharmacy-benefits manager Express Scripts Holding Co. (ESRX) that has hurt sales this year. Chief Financial Officer Wade Miquelon said the deal had been in the works for more than a year, adding a company of Walgreen's size "is not going to do a transformational transaction of this magnitude unless you're thinking about the strategic fit, the overall financials and the very-long haul."
Though the Alliance Boots investment should help fill an earnings hole near-term given Walgreen's deterioration in same-store sales this year tied to the spat with Express Scripts, some argue that it could also mean Walgreen is less likely to settle with Express Scripts in the near term. There had been speculation Walgreen would be pushed into making a deal with the PBM as customers went elsewhere to fill their prescriptions, though that chatter may get squashed as Walgreen focuses on the large transaction.
Earlier Tuesday, Walgreen reported an 11% drop in fiscal third-quarter earnings to $537 million, or 62 cents a share, down from $603 million, or 65 cents, a year earlier. Sales dropped 3.4% to $17.75 billion.
Walgreen also raised its quarterly dividend by 22% but said stock buybacks were being put on hold amid the Alliance Boots deal. The company has spent $1.2 billion on repurchasing shares so far this fiscal year.
The deal's structure, as well as Walgreen's shift away from conservative financial policies, led Standard & Poor's Ratings Services to put the company's investment-grade rating on watch for downgrade. Though S&P's rating on Walgreen currently stands at A, the company could face a three-notch cut to triple-B if the deal is completed as planned.
Write to Sten Stovall at Sten.Stovall@DowJones.com
--John Kell of Dow Jones Newswires and Paul Hodkinson of Private Equity News contributed to this article.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 19, 2012 12:52 ET (16:52 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.


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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A sign of Foxconn is seen at a glass door inside its office building in Taipei, Taiwan November 12, 2020. REUTERS/Ann Wang
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s Foxconn, which assembles iPhones for Apple (NASDAQ:), on Friday reported better-than-expected first-quarter profit amid the work-from-home trend spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic that has stoked demand for electronic devices.
Officially known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, the world’s biggest contract electronics maker said January-March net profit surged to T$28.2 billion ($1 billion) from T$2.1 billion in a pandemic-hit first quarter a year earlier, beating an average forecast of T$24.41 billion compiled from 11 analysts’ estimates by Refinitiv.
($1 = 27.9520 Taiwan dollars)
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McAfee has announced that nine additional companies have joined the McAfee Security Innovation Alliance, a technology partnering program that accelerates the development of interoperable security products and simplifies the integration of those products within complex customer environments.
Four of these new partners – High Tower, LogRhythm, SenSage and Skybox Security – and four previously announced SIA partners-Absolute Software, Bit9, LogLogic and Q1 Labs-are showcasing their support for McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO) to the public this week. Also joining SIA are partners AccessData, Intellitactics, SecureLogix and StillSecure.
Joe Gottlieb, vice-president of corporate strategy and technology alliances at McAfee. "Together, McAfee and its partners are building and testing a wide array of solutions that deliver greater protection, reduced risk and increased compliance."
McAfee ePO lets enterprises and governments centrally manage security and compliance products from multiple vendors, offering unprecedented cost savings and return on investment. With this announcement, a total of 18 companies will be using McAfee's software development kit and application programming interfaces (APIs) to integrate with ePO, leveraging the first interoperability category made available to partners through the program.


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Episode 4 - Why Is The Cannabis Industry So Damn White?
An interview Jacob Plowden & Molly Adams from the Cannabis Cultural Association.
It may be called the green rush but 90% of the cannabis industry is another color, and that color is white. And male. And probably straight. That’s less a criticism than an observation. Our guests this week, Jacob Plowden, founder of the Cannabis Cultural Association and his Aunt Molly Adams, want to change that. They span three generations of use within one family but because of when and how they grew up, share totally different experiences.
Historically, there are several reasons for this color/gender imbalance.
It goes back to the 1930s when Cannabis Prohibition became the law of the land. To a large extent Prohibition had its roots in racism. Marijuana came from Mexico, the land of poor brown people, and when those people started flooding across the border to flee the economic misery unleashed by the Great Depression a tide of anti-immigrant fervor took hold. “Reefer” was also used in the American jazz scene, which was led by African Americans. The fear was that the evil weed would cause white women to have sex with black men. Those implications persisted for long time.
Today, the issues are as much social as socio economic. The ACLU says that of the 8.2 million marijuana arrests from 2001 to 2010, 88% were for simple possession of marijuana; African Americans are nearly four times as likely to be busted for possession than whites. In other words, for a white guy like me, a bust was a slap on the hand. For a man of color, it was a ticket to orange.
Unfortunately, even as legalization spreads across the country, many states ban applicants from obtaining cannabis business licenses if they have any criminal record, even for misdemeanors. California is changing that when it goes legal in 2018. Their laws recognize that it’s unfair is it to punish people throughout their lives for a crime that most of us listening to this podcast don’t consider criminal at all. Not every state is as forgiving. And of course, the high cost of launching a cannabis business is also keeping people of color at bay. It’s often in the high 6 figures and increasingly into the many millions.
In other words, there’s a lot of work to do to changing the complexion of the cannabis industry. Tune in to hear how one group is tackling the challenge.


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Will CBD show up on a drug test UK?
It is not common for CBD users to turn out a positive drug test for THC. … Still, Consumerlab president Tod Cooperman, whose company tests natural supplements like hemp-based CBD, says around 10 percent of those people who use CBD can test positive for THC. So, “it can happen, he said.
Can I grow CBD in UK?
Growing your own plants at home to make your own CBD sounds quite appealing to many people in the UK. … Hemp is equally as Illegal in the UK as cannabis and can only be grown for commercial purposes with a license. So you cannot grow it for personal use at all.
Does CBD flower smell?
So the smell is the first and main evaluation criterion for CBD flowers. The pungent aroma with its different nuances (sweetish, sourish, fruity, citric, floral etc.) is always a sign of quality. Avoid buds that smell like hay or have no smell at all.
What it means CBD?
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a naturally occurring compound found in the resinous flower of cannabis, a plant with a rich history as a medicine going back thousands of years. … Both CBD and THC have significant therapeutic attributes. But unlike THC, CBD does not make a person feel “stoned” or intoxicated.
Do you have to be 18 to buy CBD?
In states where cannabis is legal, there is usually a minimum age requirement of 18 to 21 for purchasing, says Dr. Chen. CBD products appearing on store shelves, however, often carry no age restriction, he says. CBD entrepreneurs have navigated the legal landscape in different ways.
Is there an age limit for CBD?
CBD is everywhere. … The first and only marijuana-derived drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration, Epidiolex, is used to treat a rare, severe form of epilepsy in patients two years of age and older.
Does CBD make you relaxed?
What is CBD. … Unlike THC, the other crucial compound in hemp and marijuana plants, CBD (when derived from the hemp plant) does not produce the psychoactive effects that make you feel “high”; instead, emerging science has hinted that CBD may actually ease anxiety, and therefore, makes you less likely to freak out.
Does CBD make you forgetful?
CBD (cannabidiol) has been shown to have antipsychotic and anti-anxiety effects in humans. … Even in high doses (600mg), CBD has not produced sedating effects in healthy humans. CBD usually makes humans feel more awake and alert without negative impact on sleeping patterns.
Can CBD be harmful?
CBD use also carries some risks. Though it’s often well-tolerated, CBD can cause side effects, such as dry mouth, diarrhea, reduced appetite, drowsiness and fatigue. CBD can also interact with other medications you’re taking, such as blood thinners.
Is it legal to mail CBD oil?
Is it Legal to Send CBD Oil Through the Mail? Yes, it is legal to ship CBD oil in the mail across the United States, but Federal law specifically states that it must contain less than 0.3% THC and must be derived from hemp as opposed to cannabis. That’s right, according to federal law, it is legal in all 50 states.
Is CBD Oil addictive?
Compelling scientific evidence has revealed that CBD oil may be an effective method for treating some substance abuse related symptoms. … Because CBD is not addictive and non-psychoactive, it may serve as the panacea for reducing the cravings and anxiety experienced by individuals suffering from addiction.
How does vaping CBD make you feel?
CBD oil made from hemp typically doesn’t contain enough THC to get you high, but it can produce a comforting feeling without the anxiety, paranoia and other side effects of marijuana. … When vaping CBD oil, you will feel the effects faster than using a CBD oil tincture or an edible.
Does CBD affect your brain?
The researchers found that the cannabis with low levels of CBD impaired the participants’ brain functions. The drug degraded the brain’s salience network, a system of detecting emotional and sensory stimuli, and its general functional connectivity.
Are Phytocannabinoids the same as CBD?
CBD is a naturally occurring chemical compound (cannabinoid) found in the cannabis plant. … There is a tremendous amount of information being discussed on the internet on what CBD is used for and how it is consumer (e.g., sublingual, vape, water soluble, edibles, patches, etc).
Where is CBD Oil legal?
Federal law still says CBD oils are legal to possess if they contain no more than 0.3 percent THC, a component in marijuana that, like hemp, also is derived from the cannabis plant. But authorities in Texas, Ohio and other states have arrested those who sell CBD products no matter the THC level, according to the Times.
Can I travel with CBD oil in Europe?
This is not the case, unfortunately. Even if you’re flying from one legal state to another, for example, from Oregon to nearby California, you still are prohibited from bringing any psychoactive cannabis on board, and may even be penalised for certain CBD-rich products.
Does CBD raise heart rate?
THC can increase heart rate by 20-50 beats per minute. … CBD has beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk factors and improves recovery in animal models of heart attack and stroke. Consumers with heart concerns should gravitate toward high-CBD/low-THC strains.
Does CBD thin the blood?
CBD can increase the level in your blood of the blood thinner coumadin, and it can raise levels of certain other medications in your blood by the exact same mechanism that grapefruit juice does. A significant safety concern with CBD is that it is primarily marketed and sold as a supplement, not a medication.


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- Post merger of HITS-Cable TV biz, IMCL’s FY17 net loss swells to Rs 206 crore
- RIL Surges 4% After Telecom Regulator Slashes Interconnect Charges
- Mumbai Rains: 34 domestic flights cancelled till 12 pm today, main runway remains shut
- Tata Sons buys big chunk of shares in group firms
- Swine flu: 42 positive case in Mohali
- HIV blood transfusion probe: High-level team gives clean chit to Regional Cancer Centre
- Flipkart, Amazon in Rs100 crore ad blitz
- Politicians may have helped Iqbal Kaskar net 100 crore in 3 years
- Mobile bills to go down as Trai cuts call termination charges to 6 p/min
Times Internet enhances Alive app with video sharing feature
MUMBAI: Alive, the augmented realty app from Times Internet, has introduced a video sharing service called AlivePIX.
With AlivePIX, users can experience augmented reality by creating augmented photos from their videos and also share the hidden memories behind each video with their friends and relatives.
To get started, the user has to download the Alive app and shoot a video or choose an existing one from the phone’s video gallery. Then, the user has to select a photo from one of the frames in the video and customise it under various themes like ‘birthday’, ‘thank you’, ‘sorry’, etc.
The user can then share the augmented photo on their social network, email it, or even print and post it.
The receiver has to scan the shared photograph with the ‘scan tab’ option in the Alive app on their own smartphone. Photos come alive as the user can watch the complete video within the app.
AlivePIX is currently available on Android and will be launched on iOS very soon.
Times Internet director of telecom Ajay Vaishnavi said, “Alive is the most-downloaded AR app in India. It is our constant endeavour to enhance Alive by making it useful for day-to-day use. With AlivePIX, mobile app users can create their own augmented reality pictures and share with their near and dear ones in a new fun way. We are hopeful ‘pixing’ will catch up with Alive users.”


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Stellantis unveils 1.5 bln euros investment in China's EV maker Leapmotor
Stellantis, a multinational auto company headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, has announced a plan to invest about 1.5 billion euros (US$1.59 billion) to acquire 20 percent of the shares of Leapmotor, a Chinese maker of electric cars.
In addition, the second-largest auto company in Europe also announced the establishment of a global strategic partnership with Leapmotor and plans to establish an international joint venture.
The deal, which was formally announced by Stellantis and Leapmotor on Thursday, outlines the formation of Leapmotor International, a 51/49 Stellantis-led joint venture that gives Stellantis "exclusive rights for the export and sale, as well as manufacturing, of Leapmotor products outside Greater China."
"The partnership aims to further boost Leapmotor's sales in China, the biggest market in the world, while leveraging Stellantis' established global commercial presence to significantly accelerate Leapmotor brand sales in other regions, starting with Europe," Stellantis said in a press release. The joint venture expects to begin shipments in the second half of 2024.
It described Leapmotor as one of China's fastest-growing "pure-play new energy vehicles (NEVs) tech leaders with a unique vertical integration model and full-suite of in-house R&D and manufacturing capabilities."
With their global strategic partnership, the two parties will leverage their advantages to create highly competitive and efficient electric vehicle travel solutions in China and around the world, it said.
"We feel it's the perfect time to take a leading role in supporting the global expansion plans of Leapmotor, one of the most impressive new EV players who have a similar tech-first, entrepreneurial mindset to ours," Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said.
"Through this strategic investment, we can address a white space in our business model and benefit from Leapmotor's competitiveness both in China and abroad," he added.
Stellantis Group was established in early 2021 by the merger of Italian and American conglomerates Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) and French PSA Group. It owns brands such as Chrysler, Citroen, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, and Opel. As of 2022, the group has become the fourth-largest automaker in the world and the second-largest in Europe.


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Stefan Puriss, CEO of Frontlineshop
29 Sep. 2011
Q&A: STEFAN PURISS, CEO FRONTLINESHOPLast week, Frontlineshop celebrated its 25th anniversary with opening a temporary pop-up store in Berlin’s Torstrasse 66 for one week full of events such as a Breakfast Club on the opening day, a BBQ by Carhartt, a 5-km-Girls Only run through Berlin-Mitte sponsored by Nike Sportswear, an Uslu Airlines nailpolish roulette evening, a Levi’s Print Workshop and a 24h Sale closing special. During this special week, we talked to CEO Stefan Puriss about the past 25 years for Frontlineshop, its success, and the future of the online shopping sector. Interview by Elisa Amelia Bausch
What was your aim of opening the pop-up store for just one week?
We wanted to pay tribute to our 25th anniversary and as Frontlineshop organizes an event each year to bring people closer to the brand’s philosophy, this was a good timing. Online shopping is different from a shopping experience in a real store, so it’s important to get in touch with the customers. The pop-up Store in Berlin was established for letting customers taste, feel, smell and touch the brand. The concept corresponded with the online shopping character: 24-hours shopping in the store, no changing rooms, getting inspired by the new collections and then hopefully ordering the desired fashion pieces with free express shipping via the computer terminal which was installed in the pop-up store. The aim was mainly to make the online shopping concept and of course especially our shop more emotional. By the way: It was the second Pop up Store. We opened the first one in Hamburg two years ago and it was a big success! Never change a winning concept.
Frontlineshop pop-up store in Berlin
How did brands like Nike, Carhartt, and Levi’s (Twothirds) get involved?
In our pop-up store you were able to get a preview on special anniversary pieces which were exclusively designed by several brands and designers that are cooperating with Frontlineshop. The results were, for instance, that Carhartt designed an exclusive jacket, Nike with an exceptional pair of shoes, Iriedaily designed shirts and a jacket to represent the brands’ friendship, Levi’s and Stüssy with a redesign of one of its famous items, and Wemoto, which had designed a shirt with the face of Frontlineshop founder Torsten Lange, to celebrate “The founders” work.
What was the most important episode in your 25 years brand history? How does Frontlineshop set itself apart?
One of the most important happenings was when Frontlineshop, which was first founded by Torsten Lange for music mailorder named “Funhouse Records”, changed into an online shop for streetwear during the crisis of the music business in 1990. We have come a long way because now Frontlineshop is the leading online shopping platform for streetfashion with more than 250 brands in its portfolio. Our company sets itself apart from other online shopping brands - although the competition is growing. And this is because of our target group concept we are working with: the contacts, partnering brands and the community are loyal.
Frontlineshop is a traditional brand which can look back onto 25 years of experience, the brand now benefits from this.
Do you think that a concept like a permanent pop-up store would have a future?
Right now I think there will be no permanent shop for Frontlineshop so the products will be only offered online, staying true to our roots. A concept like a pop-up store could be quite boring if it’s a permanent event. We definitely would try out other concepts like this, but our core is the online business. We don’t know, how technologies will change within the next ten years. Therefore the pop-up store concept or other ideas can be developed and improved. We are always open for new and innovative concepts!
Frontlineshop pop-up store in Berlin
How does Frontlineshop see the future of the online sector? Will there still be real shops in the future?
The online sector will not replace brick-and-mortar stores but the situation is not easy. To resolve these difficulties, the fashion business, including online and real stores, have to work together in a better way.
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Her modeling career is in the bag.
Zoe Gabriel, 17, went viral with over 22.7 million views and 2.3 million likes in January when she shared a video of herself enjoying a gift from her father — a Charles & Keith bag. The purse from the Singaporean company, which she calls her “first luxury bag,” cost $60 which is equivalent to $80 Singapore dollars.
Zoe was quickly trolled in the comments section for calling the item “luxury” on TikTok and she tearfully explained in a follow-up video that to her the bag is a luxury because her family didn’t have much money growing up.
“Who’s gonna tell her,” one hater commented along with a crying laughing emoji.
“Growing up, I did not have a lot. My family didn’t have a lot,” she said in response to the troll’s comment. “We couldn’t buy things as simple as bread.”
“Your comment spoke volumes on how ignorant you seem because of your wealth,” she lamented.
“To you, an $80 bag may not be a luxury. For me and my family, it is a lot, and I’m so grateful that my dad was able to get me one. He worked so hard for that money,” Gabriel continued in her video, which has 7.7 million views and over half a million likes.
Two months after posting the video, Garbiel turned her pain into brand partnerships and is now a model and a community ambassador for the company.
The label posted an Instagram photo on March 4 showing the content creator rocking black boots, a gray sweater dress and a lavender purse in a photoshoot.
Gabriel was also invited to lunch with the company’s founders, Charles and Keith Wong, and toured the company’s offices.
The founders even supplied her with vouchers and other bags from the brand.
“It was so fun, everybody was so nice and accommodating,” she wrote on social media at the time, alongside a cute snap of herself and her father visiting the brand headquarters.
“Thank you to everybody who has shown their support!!! 🙂 without you, we would never be here <3,” she ended her sweet note.
The modeling gig isn’t the only opportunity the fashion influencer bagged. She also has been spotted in several AirAsia promo clips on TikTok.
Gabriel donned the Malaysian budget airline’s bright red uniform and was seen rocking out to PinkPantheress and Ice Spice’s “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2” in a video posted March 18.
In another clip, she taste-tested an array of hot meals while on a flight to Kuala Lumpur.


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The first dispensaries in Hawaii likely won’t begin serving patients until much later this year, even though they’re officially allowed to open next week.
The reason: they’re simply not ready.
Hawaii officials just awarded business licenses in late April, so the companies that will grow and sell cannabis at up to 16 dispensaries in the state are still establishing their operations and ensuring they meet the slew of regulations imposed on the industry.
The companies will also have to begin growing marijuana and wait until their first harvests.
To date, state regulators haven’t yet completed final inspections for any dispensaries, the Garden Island reported.
The delay was expected, given the small window of time between when the state awarded licenses and when sales could officially begin.
A spokesman for the Hawaii Dispensary Alliance predicted that at least one of the state’s allowable 16 dispensaries – each of the eight licensees can operate two storefronts – will begin serving patients by October.


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More than a quarter of a million liquid glitter phone cases are being recalled.
"MixBin electronics distributed liquid glitter iPhone cases for the iPhone 6, 6s and 7 these are being recalled because they can leak liquid and glitter and cause skin irritation and burns to consumers," Patty Davis, a spokesperson for the CPSC told ABC News.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commision, 24 people worldwide have reported skin irritation or chemical burns to the CPSC.
"If you do have these, we urge you to act quickly, get these out of your home, contact MixBin electronics, they will give you a full refund," Davis added.
The cases are sold on Amazon, Henri Bendel, Nordstorm Rack, Tory Burch, and Victoria's Secret stores between $15 and $65 from October 2015 to June 2017.
MixBin Electronics and the retailers selling the phone cases have not responded to ABC News' request for comment.
To find out more information about the phone models being called visit the CPSC website.


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Vita Coco launches RTD canned juice
Vita Coco has released its first ready-to-drink juice that will be packaged in 16.9-ounce aluminium cans.
Vita Coco Coconut Juice will be available in two distinct flavours: mango and original with pulp.
Chief marketing officer at New York for Vita Coco, Jane Prior, commented: “Coconut juice propels us into a new category while allowing us to bring the power of coconuts to new consumers.
“A sweeter canned option of our hydrating and nutritious coconut water expands our consumption occasions by offering refreshing, bold flavours that pack the biggest taste bud punch.”
Vita Coco also recently announced a collaboration with Diageo to launch a new canned cocktail line.
Called Vita Coco Spiked with Captain Morgan, the spirits-based line will be available in three offerings, all starting with a perfectly balanced blend of iconic Captain Morgan Caribbean white rum and Vita Coco’s refreshing-tasting coconut water.
The flavours on offer are: Pina Colada, Strawberry Daiquiri and Lime Mojito.


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‘Good memories:’ Iconic bell rings with holiday experiences
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Today the Sun-Gazette offers the next installment in a weekly history series that tells the stories of those who came before us.)
Christmastime at L.L. Stearns and Sons, a department store anchoring downtown Williamsport for more than a century, was a festive experience. Santa was on the fourth floor, elves were prancing and shoppers caught the best deals of the year.
Spending the season in the store holds cherished memories for Cindy Stearns, whose family founded the company. She well remembers decorations such as a youngster in one-piece pajamas clinging to an iconic bell decorated for the holidays as well as the store’s bustling gift-wrapping section.
Laten Legg Stearns, founder of L.L. Stearns and Sons, is her great-great-grandfather. She is the daughter of Charles Robert Stearns II, the store’s last president before it closed in 1984.
Cindy Stearns recalled working in the store.
“The store was fun,” she said, adding that the bell decoration still evokes fond memories.
“I remember the bell,” she said, reflecting on the days when she thought, “When I got to be a big girl. that could be my job … to ride the bell.”
“I thought it was a real kid,” she said with a laugh. “I couldn’t wait to be a big girl.”
The atmosphere of the store reminded her of what it looked like on screen in the classic movie, “Miracle on 34th Street,” where a young girl played by Natalie Wood was taught to doubt the authenticity of Kris Kringle.
That was until a kindly, elderly man, wonderfully portrayed by Edmund Gwen, proved his worth by having a real beard and, toward the end of the movie, surprising her parents with a house in the suburbs and leaving his signature cane in the corner.
Shoppers did not see a hint of holiday decorations until Black Friday, as the store was decorated by staff in preparation for the biggest shopping day of the year, Cindy Stearns said.
“I remember there were elves that were stuffed dolls with plastic faces,” she said, preserving the memory by keeping one in the attic of her residence.
The elves were positioned throughout the floors and in various acrobatic states, including swinging or hanging on ornaments or doing somersaults.
Cindy Stearns recalled working one year in the gift-wrapping area. One of her fondest memories was when a woman wanted to bundle a broom in wrapping paper.
“It was a joyful time,” she said. “I am sure there were people who were stressed.”
About the founder
Laten Legg Stearns was the son of John and Abigail (Legg) Stearns and was raised in Speedsville, New York, according to the “Genealogical and Personal History of Lycoming County” by John W. Jordan and published by Lewis Historical Publishing Co. in 1906.
After attending high school and then an academy, Stearns taught school in Groton, New York, while spending time on his father’s farm.
In 1850, Stearns came to Lycoming County and began his first mercantile venture, becoming associated with his brother-in-law, L.N. Muir, at the general store in Jersey Shore, where they carried a large stock of goods, including drugs and chemicals.
Eleven years later, as the nation was embroiled in the Civil War, Stearns joined the Union army as a sutler — someone who follows an army and sells goods to the soldiers. He sold provisions to the 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry for four years.
After the war ended, Stearns opened the first northern stock of goods at Lynchburg, Virginia, remaining there for six months.
He then returned and, in the fall of 1865, opened a general store formerly operated by Richmond & Van Fleet, at the corner of Market and Third streets. He sold dry goods and groceries there until October 1889, a period of almost a quarter of a century.
By 1885, Stearns admitted his three sons to the partnership and, two years later, they purchased the building, which thereafter was known as the Stearns block.
When the store was moved two blocks west to Third and Pine streets, it is said the business increased by more than $100,000.
The brothers conducted their business in a very systematic and methodical manner, their books being marvels of ingenuity and accuracy, and conducted business under the style of L.L. Stearns and Sons.
After the store closed, the advertising bell was donated to River Valley Transit in 1989 by Carole Smith, former manager of the Lycoming Mall.
The bell was prominently displayed at the Trade and Transit Centre I building for many years until it was put in the Peter Herdic Transportation Museum, where it remains.
William E. Nichols Jr., city finance director and general manager of River Valley Transit, said the bell again will be on display at Patinaz, a jewelry store at 38 W. Fourth St., for the holidays and through the Christmas season.
The memories stay as clear as they were yesterday, and the happiest ones are what most people choose to hold onto, according to Cindy Stearns.
“That’s why the store and bell evoke such good memories,” she said.


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Carson King’s beer supplies were running low as the Iowa Hawkeyes took on the Iowa State Cyclones in September 2019. But the fan had an idea; he wrote a sign asking people to donate to his cause for beer and held it up during the football game. The cameras then picked it up – broadcasting it on television. And within minutes, the dollars started flowing in.
King hadn’t actually anticipated that anything would come from his tongue-in-cheek message. The whole thing, in fact, had been something of a joke. Yet his slapdash sign did, nonetheless, include his online payment details, and within half an hour $400 had arrived in his account.


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An interdisciplinary team of 13 partners from five European countries are working together in a four-year project to optimize the utilization of seafood side-streams by developing new methods to produce nutritional ingredients.
In the EU the fish processing industry is a significant industry that generates an overall turnover of nearly €28 billion and employs more than 122,000 people. However, the industry is facing several challenges. For instance, it is estimated that the amount of seafood side-streams in Europe is about 1.5 million tons based on a production of 5.1 million tons of fish caught. This means that the current utilization of the aquatic biomass is much too low. Up to 70 % of the aquatic resources end up as side-streams, which are either used for low-value purposes such as animal feed or disposed of, which is costly for the companies involved.
This calls for a more sustainable and commercially attractive exploitation of the fish and other aquatic products throughout the value chain. To that end WaSeaBi, a new project, which brings together an interdisciplinary team of 13 partners from Denmark, Sweden, Spain, France and Belgium, aims to develop and test new concepts, which will ensure that side-streams from aquaculture, fisheries and aquatic processing industries can be exploited for production of new products and ingredients.
The project will achieve a valuable exploitation of the biomass by developing storage solutions, sorting technologies and decision tools, which will secure an efficient and sustainable supply system for by-catches as well as side-streams from aquaculture, fisheries and the aquatic processing industries. It will enable an added value of the raw materials into marketable products. By addressing side-streams from six different raw materials, WaSeaBi will take a value chain perspective to succeed with high quality production of for instance protein-based food ingredients and aromatic ingredients and mineral supplements for food and feed.
In addition, the WaSeaBi project will evaluate the commercial potential of the produced ingredients as well as quantify specific environmental, economic and social impacts of the proposed solutions.
Kick-off meeting in Copenhagen
The project was kicked off with a partner meeting on 21-22 May in Copenhagen. “We are very excited about the start of the WaSeaBi project and have very high expectations as to what we can accomplish”, says Charlotte Jacobsen, project coordinator and Head of the Research Group for Bioactives – Analysis and Application at the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark. ”With this project, we want to help the industry exploit their raw materials much better and in a more sustainable manner. We need to find ways to make the most of the resources that are available so that ultimately we are able to produce more food for the world’s growing population ”, Charlotte adds.
The project has a total project budget of €4,158,214 and receives €3,197,422 in funding from the Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking (JU) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 837726. The JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and the Bio Based Industries Consortium. The project period is May 2019 – May 2023.
WaSeaBi is a contraction of the words waste, seafood side-streams and bioeconomy.
For further information please contact
Charlotte Jacobsen, Project Coordinator
email@example.com or +45 23 27 90 75


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This recall involves jogging strollers sold under the brand names Instep Safari, Instep Grand Safari, Instep Flight, Schwinn Turismo, Schwinn Discover Single, and Double Occupant Swivel.
According to KVAL News, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Pacific Cycle announced that more than 200,000 jogging strollers with a swiveling front wheel are now subject to a safety recall. Pacific Cycle has received 132 reports of the front wheel becoming loose or unstable.
Consequently, 215 injuries were reported. These included head injuries, sprains, lacerations, bumps, bruises and abrasions. The brand names involved in the recall are stated as the following: Instep Safari, Instep Grand Safari, Instep Flight, Schwinn Turismo and Schwinn Discover Single and Double Occupant Swivel.


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Dell has used CES to introduce its new flagship monitor, the UltraSharp UP3017QA. The Texans combine a diagonal size of 30 inches and OLED technology. The end result is quite an impressive piece of art, besides the large size for example, it also has excellent contrast, the only reason why 400,000:1 is specified, is because the instruments can’t currently read a higher contrast.
Furthermore, Dell says that 1.07 billion colors can be displayed, a 100 percent coverage of the Adobe RGB color space is also given. OLED typically provides the monitor with a flat reaction time, which is specified at 0.1 ms. Dell continues the impressive specifications with a UHD resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels, resulting in a sharp display. At a first glance, after today's press conference the UP3017QA offered pretty impressive image quality, we look forward to getting an extended amount of time with the monitor so we can dive deeper into it.
Not only is the new display technically impressive, from a design point of view it has a lot going for it. The UP3017QA carries not only a very narrow frame, the 30” model is combatively compact. Not only that, the housing is overall very flat. This has been made possible with the power supply being externally positioned. Outside of the power point, we’ve got a HDMI and Mini DisplayPort connector to round things off.
As for pricing, with a launch price of $4,999, it’s extremely far away from being an aggressively priced display. Alongside that, expect a jump in the power bill thanks to its high 240 W power consumption.
Dell is expected to announce more around OLED in the coming days as an Alienware laptop is expected. Keep an eye out for news on that!


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Confessions of a Comic Book Guy is a weekly column by Steve Bennett of Super-Fly Comics and Games in Yellow Springs, Ohio. This week, Bennett looks at Marvel's new female reader initiative, and takes a pass on the new Robocop movie.
Last time, when I was writing about the new Ms. Marvel, I really should have mentioned it was part of a whole new Marvel female reader initiative, "characters and creators," that includes titles like Black Widow, Elektra, She-Hulk, Captain Marvel and the X-Men comic featuring an all women line-up. I'm old enough to actually remember Marvel's first attempt at that, the well intentioned if clueless and ham-fisted "Lady Liberators" from Avengers #83. I assume the thinking beyond it is that Ms. Marvel would have a better chance of success if it were partnered with a line of similarly themed comics. It's just a pity they hadn’t thought of that when they released the recently canceled all female hero team Fearless Defenders in 2013. Of course numbers don't always guarantee safety. I was around in 1972 when Marvel launched a similar line featuring Shanna the She-Devil, Night Nurse and The Cat, none of which hung around very long.
Maybe I missed a memo (I seem to miss a lot of them), but I never heard it being called "characters and creators" before; I just assumed these were being lumped in with the other Marvel All-New NOW! books. But no, it's actually a thing all of its own according to an article titled "Ms. Marvel : Marvel Comics' new focus on women 'characters and creators' aims to defy the scantily clad cliche". It's a piece by Sabaa Tahir that appeared on The Washington Post's Comic Riffs section that quotes Marvel's editor-in-chief Alex Alonso as saying that these books "are not the big-breasted, scantily clad women that perhaps have become the comic book cliche. They are women with rich interior lives, interesting careers and complicated families who are defined by many things--least of all their looks."
The piece also uses the Alonso quote from The Washington Post piece I mentioned in last week's column; "While we don't have any market research, the eyes don't lie. If you go to conventions and comic book stores more and more female readers are emerging." I continue to find it absolutely adorable that there exists a youth synergistic entertainment conglomerate that instead of investing a couple grand on market research (or better yet, asks their parent company to do it for them) they would prefer to make major business decisions the old fashioned way, entirely by means of gut checks.
Marvel OGN Based on ABC's 'Revenge'").
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.
Column by Steve Bennett
Posted by ICv2 on February 19, 2014 @ 2:53 am CT
New 'TMNT,' New Manga, and the Return of 'The Mysteries'
December 1, 2023
Two new manga volumes topped the chart, a new TMNT graphic novel debuts in the Top 20, and The Mysteries sticks around for a second month.
Tough Month for the Top 20
December 1, 2023
Year over year sales of the Top 20 titles dropped sharply.