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US dairy industry claims victory over Canada in trade pact dispute
The United States has claimed victory over Canada in its first dispute under the new North American trade agreement after an international panel found that Canada gave preferential treatment to its own dairy industry.
Members of the cross-border panel agreed with U.S. assertions that Canada breached the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) by earmarking most of its lower and zero-tariff dairy import quotas for domestic processors.
“Enforcing our trade agreements and making sure they benefit American workers and farmers is a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration,” U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement Tuesday.
The fight stems from a dispute over so-called dairy “tariff-rate quotas” (TRQs), mechanisms to allow low or no duties on imports of a particular good — in this case, certain dairy products. Any imports beyond the quota are subject to higher tariffs.
The U.S. accused Canada of violating the quotas by restricting most of them to Canadian dairy processors. That leaves U.S. producers — mostly dairy farmers — often priced out of Canada’s market, according to the National Milk Producers Federation. Canada, meanwhile, says its policies are critical to the stability of its own dairy sector.
The panel’s report found that across more than a dozen categories of dairy products, 85 to 100 percent of the lower tariff rates were reserved for Canadian processors. The rest were available on a first-come, first-serve basis for others active in the Canadian food or agriculture sector.
The panel’s Dec. 20 decision, released Tuesday, determined that Canada was in breach of its USMCA Treaty commitments and gave Canada 45 days to comply with the panel’s findings. Presiding over the panel was Uruguayan diplomat Elbio Rosselli, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Canada’s dairy market includes six main players, the report noted: producers or dairy farmers, processors, further processors, distributors, food service and retailers.
The report defined Canada’s 14 dairy categories as milk, cream, skim milk powder, butter and cream powder, industrial cheeses, cheeses of all types, milk powders, concentrated or condensed milk, yogurt and buttermilk, powdered buttermilk, whey powder, products consisting of natural milk constituents, ice cream and ice cream mixes, and other dairy.
For all 14 categories, access to 80 percent or more of the low-tariff quota was reserved for processors, while for 10 of the categories, an additional 10-20 percent was reserved for further processors. The report defined processors as facilities that convert raw milk into consumer products, while further processors incorporate dairy ingredients into other products.
The U.S. argued in the report that Canada’s decision to limit low-tariff access to processors has resulted in the exclusion of the “producer group” — which includes U.S. dairy farmers.
Canada is the third-largest export destination for U.S. dairy products, amounting to $478 million worth of exports from January–October 2021, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said.
While the office did not make clear how much the U.S. stood to gain if Canada altered its practices, The Wall Street Journal cited the International Trade Commission, which estimated that the implementation of the USMCA would boost U.S. dairy exports to Canada by $227 million.
The panel ultimately determined that Canada’s practices were “inconsistent” with an article in the USMCA Treaty.
“No one other than processors has access to, or can apply for, these allocations,” the report stated. “Hence access is limited to processors, which is not permitted by the Treaty.”
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative declared Tuesday it had “prevailed” in the dispute.
“This historic win will help eliminate unjustified trade restrictions on American dairy products, and will ensure that the U.S. dairy industry and its workers get the full benefit of the USMCA to market and sell U.S. products to Canadian consumers,” Tai, the Biden administration’s trade representative, said in her office’s press statement.
The National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council also lauded the resolution.
Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the federation, praised the move in a letter Wednesday, stressing that “dairy farmers are on track to gain greater, well-deserved access to Canada’s dairy market.”
“The United States and Canada negotiated specific market access terms covering a wide variety of dairy products, but instead of playing by those mutually agreed upon rules, Canada ignored its commitments,” Mulhern said in another statement the day before. “As a result, U.S. dairy farmers and exporters have been unable to make full use of USMCA’s benefits.”
Canada also claimed victory following the settlement, asserting that the panel “ruled overwhelmingly in favor of Canada and its dairy industry.”
“In particular, it is important to note that the panel expressly recognizes the legitimacy of Canada’s supply management system,” Mary Ng, Canada’s Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, and Marie-Claude Bibeau, Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, said in a joint statement.
“The panel also confirms that Canada has the discretion to manage its TRQ allocation policies under CUSMA in a manner that supports Canada’s supply management system,” they added.
The two ministers stressed, however, that they have “taken note of the panel’s finding” regarding the reservation of the lower-tariff quotas. They acknowledged the 45-day timeline, defined as Feb. 3, and emphasized that Canada’s dairy industry remains a vital pillar in the country’s economy.
“Our government, as it proceeds with the next steps in the process, will continue to work closely with the Canadian dairy industry,” the ministers said, noting that Canada takes its international obligations seriously, including those with the U.S., its “closest trading partner.”
“The Government of Canada will continue to stand up for its dairy industry, farmers and workers and the communities they support, and it will continue to preserve, protect and defend the supply management system,” the ministers added.
The Hill has removed its comment section, as there are many other forums for readers to participate in the conversation. We invite you to join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter.


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Foodies get excited! Event brings new food trucks to town
A MONTHLY foodie event coming to Toowoomba will continuously offer residents something new to tantalise their tastebuds.
It was almost two years ago when the Spotted Cow publican Phil Coorey decided to try his luck by hosting a pop up food festival.
Pop Will Eat Itself showcased different food varieties via food trucks. It was a sold out event.
Now, Mr Coorey has decided to host more pop up events, but this time enticing vendors from Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.
The Blank Space Truck Collective will be held once a month, with the first kicking off on Friday, June 8 from 5pm.
Mr Coorey said he wasn't sure why it took him so long to hold an event like this again.
"We are bringing up three, maybe four food trucks from Brisbane," he said.
"They've never been here before and in another month we will bring up four more new food trucks.
"That amazing feeling of experiencing a new restaurant for the first time will be prevalent here each month."
Mac From Way Back, a mac and cheese food truck, is the first vendor to be announced with the rest being revealed in the lead up to the event date.
Tickets are $5.
For more information and to keep up to date with the event visit Blank Space Truck Collective on Facebook.

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There’s going to be an outlet mall in Chesterfield.
But with two competing bids on the table, which one has a better shot of being built is anybody’s guess.
At a time when cities are strapped for cash, the multimillion-dollar developments would boost Chesterfield’s sales tax revenue. At stake for developers, working on competing timeframes, is a lucrative retail project that doesn’t make sense if the other is completed first. Chesterfield Mayor Bruce Geiger said that completing both projects is not an option. “The market just couldn’t take two outlets.”
At a Chesterfield City Council meeting Nov. 7, Chesterfield Outlets — a 500,000-square-foot, high-end outlet mall backed by T-O Ventures Inc., a partnership between two leading retail development firms — took a step toward rezoning 60 acres just north of Highway 40 in Chesterfield Valley. But at the same meeting, owners of the Chesterfield Mall, CBL & Associates Properties, urged council members to consider the market impact of outlet shops located roughly two miles from the Chesterfield Mall, as those stores would be. The city council is expected to deliver a final recommendation on the rezoning Nov. 21.
“It’s a horse race,” Linda Humphers, editor in chief and director of Value Retail News, a Florida-based retail publication, said. “It really does boil down to whichever site the tenants are most comfortable with.”
Both projects would be situated within miles of the Chesterfield Mall.
Chesterfield Outlets, backed by T-O Ventures, a partnership between Michigan-based Taubman Centers and OutletPartners LLC, would be built directly across from Chesterfield Commons, on a 60-acre site on North Outer 40 Drive east of Boone’s Crossing. The competing project, Spirit of St. Louis Outlet Mall, is being developed by EWB Development and Texas-based Woodmont Co., which has proposed a 555,000-square-foot, $85 million outlet center on 55 acres near the Spirit of St. Louis Airport. The mall would anchor the 131-acre Chesterfield Blue Valley development on Old Olive Street Road.
“I think most retail people will tell you T-O Ventures has, by far, the premium location,” said Tim Lowe, vice president-leasing at THF Realty, developer of Chesterfield Commons. “It’s at the No. 1 intersection. It’s got great visibility.”
But the location of Chesterfield Outlets is rankling Chesterfield Mall owner CBL. The Chesterfield Outlets site is roughly two miles from the Chesterfield Mall, which does $200 million in sales a year. “We’re not opposed to competition,” said Michael Lebovitz, a CBL executive vice president who opposed T-O Ventures’ plan at the Nov. 7 City Council meeting. But he said Chesterfield Outlets would feature 55 of the same brands sold at Chesterfield Mall, bringing “unprecedented” competition to the area. Regarding the Spirit of St. Louis project, he said, “I’m not happy about it, but the fact that they’re seven miles away is a different shopping trip.”
Either project would be a coup for Chesterfield. “It’s a niche that would bring more people to Chesterfield,” Geiger said at the meeting.
For both developers, the Chesterfield projects are a first attempt to build an outlet mall from the ground up.
Taubman has a track record for developing high-end retail centers, as does its partner, OutletPartners LLC, a real estate development firm in Warren, N.J. For the first half of the year, Taubman reported a profit of $19 million on $44.7 million in revenue. The company’s portfolio includes 26 malls, including the Beverly Center in Los Angeles and the Dolphin Center in Miami.
It is unclear how much its Chesterfield project would cost, but the site could be worth around $20.65 million, according to real estate executives, who estimated that construction costs could be up to $150 a square foot.
The $85 million Spirit of St. Louis Outlet Mall is being developed by EWB Development in conjunction with Woodmont Outlets, an affiliate of The Woodmont Co. of Fort Worth, Texas. Among its principals are Dean Wolfe, who worked for May Department Stores Co. for 32 years, and Marian Nunn, a former chief operating officer at THF Realty. Upon completion, the mall is expected to generate $265 million in annual sales and $22.3 million in sales tax revenue.
Despite Wolfe’s experience, Humphers said Taubman’s track record and relationships with vendors could give it a boost. “It’s a relationship industry,” she said.
Still, at first blush, time is on the side of the Spirit of St. Louis Outlet proposal, which four years ago received the kind of commercial zoning that owners of the Chesterfield Outlets are currently seeking. Developers said they plan to submit plans to Chesterfield by the end of the year and break ground next summer in order to open next fall.
Meanwhile, T-O Ventures is working to catch up.
For the past year, T-O Ventures has been scouring the country for high-end outlet mall sites. The company is “targeting markets that can support higher productivity outlet centers capable of achieving tenant sales of at least $400 per square foot,” Robert Taubman, chairman and chief executive of the company, wrote in Taubman’s 2010 annual report.
But Aimee Nassif, Chesterfield’s planning and development services director, said so far she only has plans for one project: T-O Ventures’ Chesterfield Outlets. City officials have been working with T-O Ventures for six months, and she expects T-O Ventures to submit site plans within a week to 10 days, she said. “Do I think both will work? That’s the million-dollar question, but I don’t know what that project looks like right now,” she said. “I know there’s talk of two, and officially I only have one in.”
It is unclear how each project would be financed, and so far neither project has requested financing. Neither has announced tenants, either, which will be a key to their success.
But THF’s Lowe said Taubman has the advantage in this category. “Taubman is one of the biggest regional shopping center developers in the U.S.,” he said. “Taubman centers are always first class. They’ll have the pull and some better tenants.”
Lowe said the Taubman proposal would be a boon for Chesterfield Commons by becoming a complementary shopping experience. “We’ll pull people from Clayton who wouldn’t go to Chesterfield Commons,” but would run across the street to Wal-Mart if they were shopping at the outlet mall.


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FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN)—Eurobike has new extended opening hours for this year’s event from September 4-7, and a new marketing campaign.
In 2008, Eurobike will open its doors to the public one hour later (10 a.m.), but close two hours later (8 p.m.) in the evening.
TAIPEI, Taiwan (BRAIN)—A Taiwan designer combined three “green transportation” trends—solar power, electric power and folding bikes—to claim the winning entry in this year’s bicycle design competition.
TAIPEI, Taiwan (BRAIN)—Taiwan’s president topped the crowd of dignitaries marking the official opening of the Nangang Exhibition Hall Thursday and the start of the Taipei Cycle show.
"Some might wonder how it was that such a soft spoken, diminutive old man could gain his 'Big Guy' nickname. It’s simple, because Dick Burke was a giant in the industry to which he and his family have committed themselves.
MONTREAL, Quebec (BRAIN)—Dorel Industries reports that bicycle sales drove a 10 percent increase in sales by its recreational/leisure segment. Dorel owns Pacific Cycle, makers of Mongoose, GT and Schwinn bicycles.
These earnings don't reflect the company's recent purchase of Cannondale.
PHILDELPHIA, PA (BRAIN)—January was a slim month for suppliers who shipped 18 percent fewer bikes worth 18 percent fewer dollars to retailers then they did last year, according to the Bicycle Product Supplier Association (BPSA).
RICHMOND, British Columbia (BRAIN)—Chris Dekerf, owner of Dekerf Cycle Innovations, has brought aboard Michael Golinski as a co-owner.
Golinski will handle all sales and marketing functions for the company.
Not only did Thule's Karl Wiedemann bring in some tasty bagels yesterday, but he also showed off the new 518 Echelon—Thule's new premium fork mount rooftop bicycle carrier. Retailing for $145, it will make its debut at Sea Otter for all the world to see.
DOMINGUEZ HILLS, CA (BRAIN)—KHS Bicycles has purchased a distribution facility in Louisville, Kentucky.
The warehouse will increase the company’s bicycle, parts and accessory distribution capacity to the eastern part of the country.
WATERLOO, WI (BRAIN)—The Milwaukee businessman who in 1976 created one of the most iconic and successful bike brands to ever grace shop floors, Trek, passed away late Monday night.
He was 73 years old.
EUGENE, OR (BRAIN)—Burley Design has hired Troy Cameron as its new vice president of sales and customer Service.
Born and raised in Eugene, Troy Cameron is a graduate from Oregon State University with a degree in both Marketing and International Business and a minor in Textile Design.
WATERLOO, WI (BRAIN)—The Milwaukee businessman who in 1976 created one of the most iconic and successful bike brands to ever grace shop floors, Trek, passed away last night surrounded by family.
He was 73 years old.
SHENZHEN, China (BRAIN)—Twenty-five years and more than three million folding bicycles later, Dahon's founder David Hon is just getting started.
MILL VALLEY, CA (BRAIN)—WTB kicked off its Tire of the Month program with the Stout. For March, it's going to be the Prowler MX. 2.1.
What is WTB's Tire of the Month program you ask.
Mavic communications manager Michael Berlinger and wife, Gail, welcomed their first child, son Brodie, into the world on Wednesday, Feb. 27.
DUARTE, CA (BRAIN)—Dahon is chartering a full-size city bus, the Dahon Last Mile Bus, for all Taipei Cycle Show attendees.
This is a green effort aimed at reducing the need for hundreds of individual taxis to drive people to the show.
KORBACH, Germany (BRAIN)—Continental Tires AG has appointed Brett Hahn to its newly-created position of North American brand manager for its Bicycle Tire Business Unit.
TEMPE, AZ (BRAIN)—GAI Cycles of Phoenix has acquired 100 percent ownership in Titus Cycles from Vyatek Sports.
OAKLAND, CA (BRAIN)—For Tip Top Bike Shop in Oakland, high gas prices are a godsend.
“We cheer every rise in prices,” said Richard Oelerich, owner of Tip Top Bike Shop. “We get one person a week coming in here and saying they’re not driving anymore.”


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2018 smartphones will have thinner bezels than the ones we saw in 2017. Smartphones in 2019 will have even thinner bezels and slowly but surely, smartphone makers will get rid of all the bezels and start making devices with “all screen no bezels” design. That begs the question, where will all the sensors and most importantly, the front facing or cameras go? Xiaomi tried a new position for the front-facing camera in the bottom bezel but, as we said, future smartphones could get rid of all the bezels.
A new Samsung patent has been unearthed, and it reveals a future where [...]
As the smartphone industry moves toward a bezel-less era of phones, the fears of a stalemate in terms of design are slowly creeping up. Samsung, however, will soon launch a phone which might be the next big thing in the smartphone industry. The foldable Samsung Galaxy X is expected to be launched early in 2018. While there have been concepts and patent leaks which reveal a futuristic design for the Galaxy X, this new patent of a foldable phone from Samsung might not be an ideal design.
According to the patent, when in an open position, the device looks like someone placed two similarly sized phones next to each other. The frame joining the two displays is made of [...]
A new patent has revealed that Samsung wants to scan a user’s palm to give them password hints in case they forget the password.
Smartphones nowadays have a lot of different layers of security. Samsung phones have a lot of different ways of unlocking them like pin, password, fingerprint sensor, iris scanner and facial recognition. It is clear that Samsung believes that this method is not the most secure since it’s not planning to use palm scanning to unlock the phone. Instead, it will use the method to show hints in the case of the user forgetting the password.
According to the patent, the front camera is used for taking a picture of the palm. This [...]
Samsung has been experimenting with smartphone displays for quite some time now. Who can forget the Galaxy Round in 2013 or the Galaxy Note Edge. Recently, Samsung’s flagship phones come with curved edges and in 2017, the top and bottom bezels were extremely thin as well. However, it appears that Samsung is not satisfied with thin bezels and has started working on an all-display smartphone with no bezels.
A series of new Samsung patents have been published in the WIPO (World International Property Office) database. One such patent dates back to May of 2017 which describes an electronic device with a curved display on both sides of the device. So, no rounded display, but, [...]
Samsung Galaxy S9, despite many reports, might have a screen-embedded fingerprint sensor.
The Apple iPhone X became available to the public in November, just a few months before the launch of the Galaxy S9. One of the most talked about features of the iPhone X has to be Face ID and the lack of a fingerprint sensor. Similarly, the awkward placement of the fingerprint sensor on the Galaxy S8/S8+ was also a talking point for many and iGyaan pointed it out as well in our full review of the Galaxy S8/S8+.
It appears that Samsung will fix that by embedding the fingerprint sensor inside the display rather than positioning it in the middle at the back of the phone. The [...]
Samsung has been the number one smartphone maker in the world for a quite some time now. The smartphone industry has been stagnant in terms of innovation in the past few years. We have seen a surge in new “bezel-less” phones but, they aren’t really bezel-less. But, it appears that Samsung has a few new designs up its sleeves for the coming years.
The Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) has been working on batteries that can be recharged in 12 minutes using graphene. That is five times faster than the existing batteries that support fast charging technology but, they still take about an hour to fully charge.
It is not a news that Samsung is [...]
The Samsung Galaxy X will be the first foldable smartphone from Samsung. A new patent application by Samsung reveals how the company envisions its foldable smartphone to function.
The two screens will function like a physical split screen wherein each will be running its own app with its own app switcher. This will work in both the portrait and landscape modes.
There is another mode in the patent which chronicles a functionality of the foldable phone similar to the Nintendo 3DS. In certain apps and games, both the displays will be showing different aspects of the interface of that particular app.
Samsung has expressed the difficulties of the [...]
Samsung seems to be on a roll with 18.4 inch tablets to phones that unfold into a tablet. Now reports have emerged about a new Samsung patent. This patent shows different camera options for a phone-like device that include a regular camera, one with a bump and another that seems equipped with optical zoom and an exchangeable lens.
The phone is also drawn in a number of different shapes, suggesting how each phone’s size and shape will be determined by the camera paired with it.
There is another device-design as well which shows something thin like a phone with a thick camera module and a camera-like grip on one end. A shutter-key which is [...]
Samsung recently filed a patent with USPTO, which has been revealed today. The patent shows a smartphone that unfolds into a tablet. Earlier this year, reports hinted that Samsung was working on a folding phone under the name ‘Project Valley’. The patent, titled Foldable Device and Method Of Controlling The Same, was submitted to the USPTO on May 26th, 2015.
The sketches on the patent application reveal several configurations of a folding device. One of the sketches also includes some onscreen icons like WhatsApp, Phone, Messages and even an iPod icon. Samsung and Apple have had a love-hate relationship for a while now, and both have been very guarded when [...]


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According to the 2019 Charles Schwab Modern Wealth report, less than 40 percent of millennials feel financially stable, and almost two thirds are living paycheck to paycheck. In addition to mounting student loan debt and fewer opportunities to build wealth, millenials are often excluded from the financial planning sector. With little accessible guidance, it can be challenging to find a solid financial footing.
Stackin’, a California-based FinTech startup, aims to be the financial adviser that underserved young adults need. After raising $4 million in Series A funding, the company plans to launch banking and investing features for its text messaging platform, increase user acquisition and expand its operations.
“Stackin’ is fundamentally changing the shape and context of what a financial relationship means by creating a fun, inclusive and judgement free environment that empowers our users to learn and take action through messaging,” Scott Grimes, CEO and co-founder of Stackin’, said in a press release. “This funding allows us to build out new features around banking and investing that will enhance the relationship with our customers.”
With its text message interface, Stackin’ encourages users to ask questions to improve their finances and get access to helpful products and services in the process.
To get started in the investing world, the company offers The Starter Stack, a personalised investment strategy. An investment of $5 is all the platform requires to start investing in a low-cost diversified portfolio, and access to unlimited investments and guidance are available for just $2 a month.
In addition, through a partnership with Radius Bank, the startup also offers Stackin’ Cash, a free personal high-interest checking account. The platform offers 1.00 percent APY, free ATMs around the world and no monthly maintenance fees or overdraft fees.
Stackin’ also offers personalised features such as spending analyses, savings reminders and stock alerts.
“Consumers now have the ability to choose their financial services products based on what best serves their individual needs and the brand they want to identify with,” said Kyle Arbaugh, President of Stackin’. “Stackin’ is a brand for those underserved young consumers that want a simpler, more personal way to reach their financial goals.”
The company’s $4 million funding round was led by Experian Ventures, Dig Ventures and Cherry Tree Investments, with participation from Social Leverage, Wavemaker Partners and Mucker Capital. Ross Mason, founder of Dig Ventures and founder and former CEO of MuleSoft, will also join the board of directors at Stackin’.
“With Stackin’s distinctive model and considerable early scale, I think there are many impactful ways to deepen the relationship with their consumers, as well as help elevate financial literacy for everyone,” Ross said. “I’m excited to join the Stackin’ team.”
Saad Sherida al-Kaabi
Sheikh Nawaf al-Saud al-Nasser al Sabah


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Cheap secondhand clothes imported wholesale from the West are highly popular in Rwanda and other African countries, but this thriving market — known locally as “chaguwa” — is blamed for hurting the country’s textile industry, according to an AFP report in TVCNews.
You wouldn’t know it at Chinese-owned C&H Garments, one of the busiest factories in Rwanda’s economic zone, NewTimes reported. Business is booming at C&H.
Founded by Candy Ma and Helen Hai, the factory’s garments are mainly exported to countries such as Belgium. Products started hitting the U.S. market in April.
Factories like these are expected to play a huge role in supplying the local market as the government of Rwanda strengthens domestic production through controlling secondhand clothes imports, New Times reported.
“People think that old clothes (secondhand) are cheap,” said Saidi Hitimana, human resources manager at the C&H factory. “They are not. We shall have cheaper ones.”
Effective July 1, Rwanda raised taxes up to almost 2000 percent on imports of secondhand clothes and shoes. The imports come mainly from Europe and North America, and the move will help local manufacturers, Rwandan authorities said.
Charities like Goodwill in the U.S. sell or give away the used clothes donated to them by U.S. citizens. A lot of the clothes get sold, packed in bales and sent overseas in container ships. The U.S. exports over 1 billion pounds of used clothing each year and a lot of it winds up in used clothing markets in sub-Saharan Africa, NPR reported.
In February, five heads of state in the East African Community — Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda — agreed to ban imports of secondhand clothes by 2019, saying they hurt the textile manufacturing industries of developing countries.
Ending the secondhand clothing trade is not just about the textile industry, but the economy of East Africa, said Rwandan Economy Minister Claver Gatete.
The secondhand clothing trade is neither a productive nor a dignified industry, Galete said. “It’s just not even acceptable according to our dignity. We would prefer new clothes coming from outside that can also compete with what is produced here.”
The new Rwandan tax hike on used clothes will be good for business in a sector hit hard by cheap competition, said Patel Ritesh, director of Utexrwa, a manufacturer of textiles finished garments in Rwanda, AFP reported, according to The Guardian.
But ordinary Rwandans dislike the measure, fearing the local industry will be unable to meet demand, and the prices of new imported clothing will rise. The government’s solution is not popular, TVCNews reported.
Before the new tariffs went into effect, import duty for a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of shoes and clothing was $0.20. Effective July 1, the new tariffs increased to $2.50 for clothes and $5 for shoes — almost a 2000 percent increase — according to Drocelle Mukashyaka, a manager in the Rwandan Receipts Agency.
The secondhand clothing imports have “completely killed the textile industry” in developing countries, said Rwandan Trade Minister Francois Kanimba.
On a tour of the Chinese-owned C&H Garments factory in Rwanda, manager Hitimana pointed to clothes on a rack designed for the Rwandan market. “See for yourself,” he said. “Shirts like this cost 900 Rwandan francs ($1.20) and the school uniform could be as cheap as 800 Rwandan francs ($1.07). Even in the imported secondhand (market) you will find most clothes going for as high as 3000 Rwandan francs ($4). Which one is cheaper then?”
Stay up to date with all the latest news that affects you in politics, finance and more.
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It's officially fall, so you know what that means: It's pumpkin spice season. If you're looking for a pumpkin spice treat, Paula Deen has some pumpkin spice toffee thins. Paula's recipe has a prep time of 20 minutes and cooking time of 11 to 13 minutes.... Read More.
In a new ad for his Aviation American Gin, Ryan Reynolds is pushing back against the imminent annual addiction known as pumpkin spice season."It's nearly fall, which means the entire universe will once again be losing its mind about pumpkin spice," Ryan says before... Read More.
(NEW YORK) -- Despite the date on the calendar, brands are already busy preparing their post-summer push for all things pumpkin spice, unleashing fall offerings a full 28 days before the last day of summer.For fans of the expeditious mental shift in seasons, Starbucks... Read More.
It feels like just yesterday that Scotty McCreery and wife Gabi announced they were expecting a baby boy. And in a way, the dates really are flying off the calendar."November 4th was the original due date, and then we went in for a check-up... Read More.
(NEW YORK) -- Although temperatures are still above 70 degrees in a majority of the U.S., with a little under a month left of summer, Starbucks has already kicked off the unofficial start of fall with the return of Pumpkin Spice Lattes.Starting Tuesday, the... Read More.
(NEW YORK) -- Pumpkin spice season is around the corner, which means a sweet lineup of new products.Oreo announced its newest flavor of pumpkin spice creme filled cookie sandwiches will hit shelves Aug. 15.The cookie brand also created a Twitter community for "pumpkin spice... Read More.
The roots of Halloween go back over 2000 years ago. In the region encompassing Northern France, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, an ancient Celtic festival named Samhain (pronounced sow-in) was celebrated on November 1st, their new... Read More.


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The store is part of the Emporium Brisbane, a luxury retail and dining precinct, which is home to fashion retailers, cafes and restaurants, and renowned for its international architectural design aesthetic.
The first BurgerFuel stores in Australia were opened in Sydney’s Newton and Blacktown suburbs, with a further store to open in Queensland’s Gold Coast.
“We’re thrilled to be opening in another major city in Australia. Queensland is a promising territory for us and our next restaurant to open, located in the Gold Coast, is now also nearing completion,” Craig Notman, BurgerFuel Australasia GM, said.
The Brisbane BurgerFuel store is the first franchised restaurant opened via the company’s Subway connection, following a deal signed at the beginning of 2014 with Franchise Brands, Subway’s associate company.


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UPDATE: Md. man sentenced for dogfighting, credit card fraud
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Maryland man was sentenced Friday to ten years in prison for engaging in dogfighting, credit card fraud, and identity theft, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says.
31-year-old Rodriguez Norman and his associates bred, trained, and exhibited dogs in organized fights where animals suffered severe bites, gashes, and other injuries, prosecutors say.
When police searched Norman’s house in August 2017, they say they found over a dozen dogs, an animal treadmill, heavy dog chains, shock collars, lunge whips, performance-enhancing animal pharmaceuticals, and medical supplies like syringes and skin staplers.
Court documents show Norman admitted that police found a fighting ring on his property that had traces of animal blood and a noose-like contraption that was used to hang dogs to build muscle.
Prosecutors say Norman continued to fight his dogs for years after law enforcement officials first contacted him about dog fighting, even though he knew that doing so was illegal.
In separate criminal activity, prosecutors say Norman helped organize and lead a conspiracy for over two years where members purchased thousands of stolen credit and debit card numbers, encoded those numbers onto fraudulent credit cards, and used those cards to buy merchandise including gift cards and cartons of cigarettes. During the conspiracy, the group made hundreds of thousands of dollars from selling cigarette cartons to buyers from New York City.
Norman was sentenced today to 108 months in prison for his role as a ringleader in the credit card fraud and identity theft scheme, and 12 months in prison for dogfighting, officials say. He was also ordered to forfeit $143,605.


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Meeting professionals have a new incentive to plan family-friendly meetings: Over half of U.S. business travelers (52 percent) admit to inviting family to join them while away on business, according to a new survey by Wyndham Hotel Group, the results of which were released yesterday.
According to Wyndham, only 16 percent of business travelers say trips are only about work. For the remaining 84 percent, then, personal time is an important component of business travel — and meeting planners should take note.
In addition to inviting family members on their business trips, 48 percent of U.S. business travelers admitted to extending a business trip to include leisure time while 32 percent said they view business trips as an opportunity to explore a new city or area.
"Among all business travelers, close to half (46 percent) have extended a trip to include leisure time in the past, while a quarter (25 percent) always include some personal time when traveling for business," reads a press release from Wyndham, which also surveyed business travelers in the United Kingdom, Canada, China and Brazil. Chinese travelers, it found, were the most likely to blend business and pleasure while traveling. British travelers were the least likely to do so.


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Ford has announced that Ford drivers with vehicles equipped with SYNC AppLink can soon access Spotify’s catalog of more than 20 million tracks on the go
Ford has announced that Ford drivers with vehicles equipped with SYNC AppLink can soon access Spotify’s catalog of more than 20 million tracks on the go. The integration with Spotify to offer the streaming music service in Ford SYNC AppLink-equipped vehicles is the company’s first direct collaboration with an automotive manufacturer.
“Spotify brings you the right music for every moment: on your computer, your mobile phone, your tablet, your home entertainment system and soon also in your Ford vehicle,” said Pascal de Mul, global head of hardware partnerships, Spotify. “Our collaboration with Ford SYNC AppLink will enable music-loving drivers to enjoy access to Spotify’s huge catalog of more than 20 million tracks while on the road.”
More than 1 million Ford vehicles in North America are now equipped with SYNC AppLink, enabling drivers to voice-control smartphone apps from the driver’s seat.
“Spotify is a terrific addition to the SYNC AppLink ecosystem helping add even more value to the experience of driving a Ford for both new and existing customers,” said Paul Mascarenas, chief technical officer and vice president, Ford Motor Company, during the announcement of the collaboration at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.


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By Daniel Hunter
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) have released the results of a poll of nearly 2,000 businesses, which suggest that most businesses (85%) do not want further EU integration.
The survey found that only 12% of firms want to leave the EU altogether. Almost half of businesses (47%) want to negotiate a looser relationship but with the UK remaining a member of the European Union. Only 9% of businesses want further integration.
Of those businesses that want to see a different relationship with Europe, over half (55%) see a referendum on EU membership as a medium-term issue, to be dealt with in the next one to five years. Another 40% of those firms would like to see a referendum within the next 12 months.
“These results clearly show that British businesses do not want further integration with the EU," John Longworth, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said.
"Although only a small proportion of firms hold extreme views on whether to leave or stay, nearly half of companies say they want a renegotiated, ‘looser’ membership within the European Union.
"Nearly four decades after Britain joined the European Community, it is astonishing that British firms seem to feel that the balance of advantage of EU membership is lessening. Businesses are pragmatic: they want to be part of a European single market, but only if it delivers real and open access for British goods and services.
"So the political establishment should tread carefully, and avoid rushed political decisions on the shape of Britain’s future relationship with the EU. Instead, both the government and the opposition should carefully consider how we can get a single market that works for business while ensuring that legislation from Brussels doesn’t damage our economic prospects.”
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Pay Asian workers fair wages, World Cup sportswear giants Adidas, Nike told
AHEAD of the start of the 2018 World Cup in Russia this weekend, campaigners have urged global sportswear manufacturers Adidas and Nike to pay workers at their supplier factories in Asia a fair wage. The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) released a report this week which claimed that workers in countries like Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam, where most of these companies’ products are produced, have seen share of the price of a pair of shoes drop by 30 percent between 1995 and 2017. In the three nations, garment workers’ average salaries are 45 to 65 percent below the so-called “living wage” that would allow them to cover their families’ basic needs, said the global coalition of trade unions, workers and human rights groups. SEE ALSO: Five years after deadly factory fire, Bangladesh’s garment workers are still vulnerable “The brands decided to spend their money on football players rather than on the workers... If you wish to read this full breaking news headline article, Pay Asian workers fair wages, World Cup sportswear giants Adidas, Nike told, simply click on 'Read full story' below, but 1st please give 'Phuket Hotel Deals' a 'LIKE' or 'SHARE' before you visit 'ASIAN CORRESPONDENT'. Thank you
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This post has been corrected
Once mighty video-rental giant Blockbuster announced yesterday that it plans to close its remaining 300 stores and distribution centers in the US by mid-January (though some 50 franchises will remain open). The announcement raises a really interesting question: How is it possible that there are still so many Blockbuster locations?
Blockbuster declined to say where its remaining stores are, so Quartz wrote a script to analyze its online store locator. Despite the dueling trends of online streaming and video kiosk rentals that ultimately drove Blockbuster to bankruptcy, it turns out that, yes, it still has about 300 locations. To be precise, our script coughed up a list of 303 stores, which we’ve plotted on the map above.
Here are the states where Blockbuster has held out the longest. As the company is based in Dallas, it’s no surprise that Texas tops the list:
And here are the cities that have more than one location. Note that San Antonio, the reigning king of the dying brand, has more Blockbusters alone than 40 entire states:
Correction (Nov. 7): A previous version of the map at the top of this post stated that all 303 Blockbuster locations would be closing by next year. Only the locations owned and operated by Blockbuster will be closing; some 50 franchises and licensed stores will remain open.


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Hospital supplier Baxter International Inc. Tuesday announced plans to slash 4,500 jobs over the next five years as part of a major restructuring effort. The cuts, which represent about 7 percent of the company's worldwide work force, will result in a fourth-quarter charge of about $700 million. In all, Baxter will take charges of $925 million.
Deerfield-based Baxter also said it will invest nearly $2 billion in its fast-growing and profitable medical technology businesses, realign its U.S. sales organization and restructure distribution operations. Baxter said it would divest its diagnostics products manufacturing businesses, which generated sales of about $675 million last year.
Under the restructuring, corporate staff will be reduced while business units will be given more autonomy, the company said. "Our goal is to enhance significantly shareholder value and consistently deliver annual earnings growth in the high single digits, roughly equal to our expected rate of sales growth," said Vernon R. Loucks Jr., Baxter chairman and chief executive.
Baxter said it will incur a pretax charge of $225 million in the final quarter for future costs of litigation, primarily related to breast implants and blood-clotting concentrates, but expects to begin saving about $100 million beginning in 1994, with savings generated by the restructuring exceeding $350 million by 1998.


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Directories business Yell's dividend freeze in debt struggle
Investors in Yell received more bad news today when the company suspended its dividend as it attempts to stay on the right side of bankers.
There have been growing fears that the classified directories business is close to breaching its banking covenants as it struggles to manage a near-£4bn debt pile.
It has already asked its banks to alter the terms of the debts.
Today it said that, 'in order to achieve an appropriate level of flexibility for the business', it is halting dividend payments to conserve cash.
Debt: Yell chief executive John Condron insists the company's business model is viable despite the fact it is nearly £4bn in debt
Yell was spun off from BT for £2bn in 2001 to several private-equity houses. It was floated in 2003 at 285p a share, leaping to 643p in February 2007, when it was valued at £5bn. Today the shares added 6¾p to 97¾p.
Chief executive John Condron has sold £2m of shares since the float.
He insists Yell's business model is viable.
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According to Zacks, “J Sainsbury plc is a leading UK food retailer with interests in financial services. It consists of Sainsbury’s Supermarkets, Sainsbury’s Local, Bells Stores, Jacksons Stores and JB Beaumont, Sainsbury’s Online and Sainsbury’s Bank. It employs 148,000 people. “
Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on JSAIY. UBS Group cut shares of J Sainsbury from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 27th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Berenberg Bank set a $15.73 price target on shares of J Sainsbury and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 12th. Credit Suisse Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of J Sainsbury in a report on Tuesday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of J Sainsbury in a report on Thursday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of J Sainsbury from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J Sainsbury has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.37.
About J Sainsbury
J Sainsbury Plc engages in the retailing, financial services, and property investment businesses. It operates through the following segments: Retail-Food, Retail-General Merchandising and Clothing, Financial Services and Property Investments. The Retail segment distributes food, general merchandise, and clothing.
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December 17, 2012
Earlier this month, when Google updated one of its premiere Android applications, it quietly added a personal activity tracker.
Google Now is an Android-only app that uses Google services to smartly deliver users various kinds of information to help them throughout their day - without them having to ask. When Google updated the application at the beginning of December, they didn't mention the...
September 6, 2012
A Cambridge, UK-based startup called Cambridge Healthcare just launched a health-specific app store for patients in the UK. The store is actually part of a personal health platform, a PHR that is available to patients in the country's National Health Service (NHS) system, for free. The offering is called: How are you?
In recent months Cambridge Healthcare has inked deals with Microsoft to...
January 19, 2012
Mobile and wireless health are trying hard to win over a public that at best is skeptical, but more likely has no idea what this stuff actually is.
As I argued in my previous column, most people don't get the whole concept of connected health, but explaining it in simple terms could change that. I also said that there hasn't been enough distinction made between healthcare and consumer health/...
January 3, 2012
iTriage announced this week that it has integrated with Microsoft's HealthVault to provide users of the location-aware symptom checker app a read-only view of their personal health records. The integration makes HealthVault data viewable via an iPhone app. iTriage expects to make a similar update to its Android app in the next few weeks.
Aetna acquired iTriage for an undisclosed sum in December;...
December 21, 2011
Keas, the health gaming platform for corporate wellness programs co-founded by the original Google Health chief Adam Bosworth, has raised $6.5 million in its second round of funding. Atlas Ventures and Ignition Partners led the deal.
Keas describes its offering as a mix of a corporate wellness program, morale program, social network, addictive social game, and more. The company says it has...
December 19, 2011
Microsoft released an official mobile app for its HealthVault PHR platform last week for smartphones running the company's Windows Phone 7 operating system. The free app allows users to quickly input medical information such as immunizations and allergies to the cloud-based service, view graphs charting blood pressure and glucose readings, review insurance information and family medical history,...
October 17, 2011
Google Body Browser, a Google Earth-like explorer for the human anatomy that launched last December as part of the now-defunct Google Labs project, will be reborn as a free Android app and web application called Zygote Body, according to a report over at MedGadget.
Google Body Browser allowed users to explore human anatomy via a three dimensional browser that included layer options (such as skin...
August 18, 2011
Google may turn out to be a major player in mobile and wireless health after all.
Less than two months after the Internet search leader announced it was shutting down its overhyped, underadopted Google Health personal health records platform, comes the news that Google is paying $12.5 billion to acquire Motorola Mobility. (Is anyone surprised by this? I was at first, until I stepped back and...
August 10, 2011
ZocDoc announced $50 million in funding last week for its appointment scheduling app, and at least one commentator, Avado CEO Dave Chase (formerly of Microsoft Health), believes that healthtech startups could learn a thing or two from ZocDoc's apparent success.
In a recent column for TechCrunch, Chase lays down three simple lessons gleaned from ZocDoc's strategy to date:
Lead with the doctors....
August 9, 2011
Google's shuttering of Google Health in June also affected those mobile app developers that included Google Health integration in their offerings or even as a back-end solution. One such company is CTIS, which offers a personal health record (PHR) application, called mPHR, that requires users to have a Google Health account to access its features. Now, the company is collaborating with Microsoft...


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Chef Moshe Segev.
(photo credit: ANATOLY MICHAELO)
For more than a decade, kosher consumers have watched chef Moshe Segev on television, and for years they have been able to buy his products in supermarkets.
But they haven’t had the option of eating in any of his many restaurants – until now.
Beginning Sunday, the celebrity chef – and private cook for the prime minister – will open his first-ever kosher restaurant – named, of course, Moshe Segev – in Beersheba.
“Over my career I’ve had thousands of requests from people to open a kosher restaurant,” Segev told The Jerusalem Post
in a recent interview. “And I’ve always promised that one day I would do it.”
Segev said that in the past he has attempted to go the kosher route, but faced obstacles: whether it was locations in complexes that wanted him to open on Shabbat, or very high rents that would make closing on weekends and holidays difficult.
He said he is hopeful that this location will bring him enough customers during the week to make up for being closed on Shabbat.
“My extended family keeps kosher and they ask me all the time – what about us, what about your family, we can’t eat your food,” he said. “The public today very much wants to keep kosher, and I want to bring that option to all communities around the country.”
While this eatery will be in Beersheba, he said he’s already working on his next kosher location, which will open in Netanya in a few months, and then hopefully a third one in the north of Israel. The menu for the Beersheba eatery includes steak, hamburgers and kebabs as well as an array of pasta and fish dishes.
Segev is going against the trend for high-profile chefs in Israel by opening a kosher location. The majority of the biggest names in food cater strictly to non-kosher diners, with some even looking down on food made according to Jewish law. One notable exception is Meir Adoni, whose restaurants Lumina and Blue Sky in the Tel Aviv Carlton Hotel have certification.
But Segev said he isn’t interested in competing against other kosher restaurants – he’s determined to prove that his newest location is in the big leagues.
“The competition is mostly against ourselves,” he said.
“It’s not enough for us to be the best kosher restaurant, I want this restaurant to be at least as good as my not-kosher restaurants.”
Reaching that level, he said, took months of trials and practice to achieve perfection: “This might be the best menu we’ve done so far.” During the practice runs, Segev said, diners repeatedly sent the waiter to double check that the dessert they were eating was really dairy-free, since the restaurant serves meat. “It was so great to hear,” he said, “and be able to answer: ‘yes it is.’” While Segev’s many restaurants over the years – including Segev Art, Segev Concept, Segev Express and the new Segev Crunch Burger – have not been kosher, this isn’t his first time adhering to the dietary restrictions. For seven years, he was the head chef of El Al, which only serves kosher meals.
In addition, he also cooks kosher for a very high-profile client: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Over the years Segev has cooked dinner in the Prime Minister’s Residence for a wide range of visiting world leaders, including US President Donald Trump earlier this year.
“I never saw the culinary challenges as a problem” in opening a kosher place, said Segev. “I knew I could professionally work with that.”
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Marvel Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski took to Twitter Tuesday to call out comic book website Newsarama for daring to guess which upcoming comic book Cebulski claimed would sell a million copies.
@Newsarama I don't believe I ever said which comic I thought would sell a million copies. Please don't assume and put words in my mouth. Thanks.
— C.B. Cebulski (@CBCebulski) June 25, 2019
Now look, we love a good Newsarama bashing as much as the next guy, but is Cebulski really in any position to complain here?
Cebulski's first made the claim back in May, shortly before Marvel announced Marvel Comics #1000, an 80-page anthology celebrating Marvel's 80th-anniversary featuring 80 creative teams, 80% of which consisted of writer Al Ewing (and far less of which were women). Besides Ewing, the lineup did feature some big names, both returning Marvel creators and people from outside the industry, making it a reasonable assumption that this was the million-copy comic Cebulski was referring to. But apparently not.
Then again, Cebulski's track record with delivering on Marvel hyperbole is spotty at best. Just check out Cebulski's recent claims about a comic which he claimed would make the "industry's collective jaw-drop."
— C.B. Cebulski (@CBCebulski) June 20, 2019
That comic turned out to be a Spider-Man book written by the twenty-year-old son of J.J. Abrams, which did cause a jaw-drop of sorts, but mostly in terms of people wondering how Marvel could be so tone-deaf as to expect a jaw-drop over letting a kid with no prior comic book writing experience write Marvel's most well-known character just because of who his dad is.
Further, the claim that Marvel could sell a million copies is spurious from the outset. When Marvel talks about comic book sales numbers, they refer to copies of comics sold to retailers, and the House of Ideas has spent the last two decades embracing ways to increase those without actually increasing readership, often relying on gimmicks like number one issue relaunches, loot crate giveaways, super-mega-crossover event tie-ins, and incentive variant covers to convince retailers to order more copies of comics than they can actually sell, often resulting in comics sitting unsold on shelves while retailers make their money back by selling the rare variants for higher profits. It looks good on Marvel's bottom line, but if the comics don't actually end up in the hands of actual readers, what purpose do they serve?
ComicBook.com's Chase Magnett eloquently explained what selling a million copies of a comic really means in the article Why You Can't Sell 1,000,000 Comics in the Direct Market.
In any case, if it wasn't Marvel Comics #1000, and it wasn't the Abrams Spider-Man comic, which comic is Cebulski actually claiming will sell a million copies? The truth is, Cebulski probably doesn't even know himself. If we had to guess, he probably thought the reaction to Marvel Comics #1000 would be better, and when that didn't work out, he clearly thought the reaction to Abrams Spider-Man would be better than it was. But by remaining vague about it, he can just keep claiming, "that's not it" and keep trying again.
We'll see if Marvel can prove us wrong at San Diego Comic-Con next month. Or maybe next year. Cebulski never said when Marvel will publish the million-copy-selling comic, after all. If they could actually pull it off, for real, it would be great for the industry and great for everyone. But as the old saying goes, fool us Marvel 1000 times, shame on you, fool us Marvel 1001 times, shame on us.


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Editorial: Gaming / Facebook / Twitter / Coverage / Instagram / Discord
Coupled with the cryptocurrency debacle and the NFT crash, the Crypto Bros can rest for a second. A group of Hackers used a Discord bot to trick users into malicious links within the servers of several popular NFT projects. Hackers compromised several NFT servers last Tuesday, with the aim of scamming their members to buy fake NFTs.
As reported by Vice, the cybersecurity firm specializing in the blockchain “PeckShield” made known what was happening through a tweet, warning that the Discord servers of the NFT Memeland, PROOF/Moonbirds, RTFKT projects, and the company CyberConnect, they were being attacked.
CyberConnect confirmed the hack on Twittercalling on its users not to click on any link that was shared on their Discord.
Another one affected by the hackers’ attack was the game Axie Infinity, which announced that the MEE6 bot on its Discord server was affected with the fake message. The MEE6 bot is quite popular on Discord, and many servers use it to automate messages and other functions.
The team behind the bot came out to clarify on Twitter the problem the NFT servers had: “Some servers reported that MEE6 is used to post spam. There is no technical gap in our systems. This was because the account of one of our employees was compromised.”
According to information from Vice, one of the hackers is someone who calls himself Kareem Bribez, and who confirmed to be part of the attack on the Discord of the different NFTs, assured that focusing on the MEE6 bot made sense because “it is a important bot, so it’s a good way to get access to large servers.”
We remind you that Ruetir.com He is also on Instagram and Twitter as @RuetirNews Follow us!
Facebook / Twitter / Coverage / Instagram / Discord
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Palmer residents excited about new, larger Fred Meyer store
A new Fred Meyer store that opened Friday in Palmer drew big crowds. People waited in line hours before the store opened for a chance to get a $500 gift card. By 12 p.m., there wasn’t an empty parking space in sight.
The new store is 137,000 square feet, almost twice as big as the old store, which now sits empty across the street. Fred Meyer Community Affairs specialist Judi Swift said the company made the $35 million investment because they needed more space.
“It became impossible to keep the shelves full,” Swift said. “And I will say it’s the first time Fred Meyer ever built a new store across the street from an old store.”
The new store carries plenty of items the old one didn’t, including a full line of clothing, furniture and sporting goods.
Many Palmer residents said they’d drive to Wasilla or even Anchorage to buy those items in the past. But shoppers aren’t the only ones who are excited about not having to leave town to buy the things they need.
The City of Palmer welcomes the additional business.
Palmer Community Development Director Sandra Garley said there’s a reason they’d like to see those dollars spent in town — the city’s 3 percent sales tax.
“As Fred Meyer is successful at having those dollars spent here, we will be successful in having the sales tax income stay here. And that will give us an opportunity to provide better services to the residents of our community,” said Garley.
The store is holding more giveaways in the weeks to come, according to Swift. Saturday, they plan to handout children’s bike helmets to the first one hundred children in the store, starting at 11:00 am.
The post Palmer residents excited about new, larger Fred Meyer store appeared first on KTVA 11.


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SHERMAN - A shopper has filed a lawsuit against a grocery store claiming that she suffered serious injuries when she slipped in water that was coming out of box freezers.
Demetria Sanders filed suit against Kroger Texas LP and M.C. of T. Inc., doing business as Omega, on Jan. 9 in Collin County District Court. The defendant removed the case to the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division on March 29.
The accident occurred on Feb. 18, 2011 as Sanders was shopping at a Kroger grocery store and fell because of a watery liquid emanating from the box freezers.
The defendants are accused of previously working in the area were Sanders fell and knowing about the watery substance on the floor.
“Despite the fact that they caused the water to be on the floor, no warning signs were posted and the liquid was not cleaned up,” the lawsuit states.
After Sanders fell, Kroger placed a “Caution” sign in the area to warn of the wet spot.
According to court records, Sanders injuries required surgery and significant rehabilitation.
The plaintiff is seeking an award of damages for physical pain, suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement, physical impairment, medical expenses, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, unliquidated damages, interest and court costs.
Sanders is represented by Paul O. Wickes of Wickes Law PLLC in Plano.
Case No. 4:13-cv-00183


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Swype Launches Beta for Symbian Touch Phones
Swype and Nokia today announced a beta version of Swype text input for Symbian S60 5th Edition phones. The limited beta of Swype works as it does on other touch devices, and allows users to trace out words on their touch screen rather than peck at them. The predictive software analyzes the trace patterns and helps cut down on text entry time. Right now, the devices that can run Swype for Symbian include the Nokia N97, N97 mini, X6, 5800, and 5230. Nokia and Swype hope that beta testers will provide feedback about any bugs or problems they may encounter.
Jun 3, 2019
Apple today announced iOS 13 with a long list of new features for iPhones. The Apple text keyboard now supports swipe gesture typing, which Apple calls Quick Path.
Dec 11, 2018
OnePlus today announced the OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition, a special edition of the 6T developed in partnership with McLaren F1. Most of the core features of the phone are unchanged, but the OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition boosts the RAM to 10 GB and introduces new Warp Charge 30, which will recharge the battery by 50% in just 20 minutes.
May 29, 2018
HMD Global has refreshed it lineup of affordable Android phones with the Nokia 5.1, Nokia 3.1, and Nokia 2.1. Each new phone is an update to last year's devices.
Feb 25, 2018
Samsung today announced the Galaxy S9 and S9+ phones, updates to last year's S8 models. The devices bear a striking resemblance to their predecessors and make only modest changes to the hardware.
Aug 31, 2017
Sony today announced the XZ1 and XZ1 Compact smartphones, two metal-clad flagships that pair novel features with classic Sony looks. The phones share nearly all specs and capabilities, with the XZ1 Compact downgrading only a few components due to its smaller size.


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Vodacom and Airtel, two of Africa’s most influential telecoms, will be part of the next GSMA Mobile World Congress to slated for February 25 to 28 2013 at Fira Gran Via in Barcelona, Spain.
GSMA has announced the launch of the conference to bring global telecom players to one venue to discuss issues affecting the telecom industry and to showcase various case studies from the companies.
The organizer GSMA has already given the theme for the congress: “The New Mobile Horizon” will be the maiden focus for the conference.
Michael O’Hara, Chief Marketing Officer, GSMA said, “Following the tremendous success of the 2012 event, we’re excited about building Mobile World Congress in its new home, Fira Gran Via.”
He added that the attendees will be able to see the latest mobile trends in whichever form. There will be exhibitors showing of new technologies and conference sessions to discuss emerging trends in the mobile telephone sector.
Michael O’Hara also promises a packed, seamless and interesting sessions and say that the organization has an outstanding programme planned for the event.
The conference plans to include up to 10 keynote sessions. “In addition to thought-provoking keynote sessions, the 2013 conference will also include in-depth track sessions exploring a range of topics such as applications, business strategy, cloud computing, connected living, developing markets, devices, mobile advertising, mobile health, mobile money, next-generation technologies, NFC, OSS/BSS and social media, among other subjects,” GSMA said.
Other interesting subjects to be discussed at the congress will include Mobile applications, mPowered brands that will look at mobile marketing, LTE, Mobile Cloud and Mobile Security
GSMA is an organisation that looks at the interest of mobile operators worldwide and has over 800 companies under its flagship.


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A totally different, even counterintuitive, way that smartphones are getting especially boat-friendly is as the interface to the satellite communications we might like when we cruise or fish beyond cellular range. The trend started with the SPOT Connect (findmespot.com), which does everything the familiar SPOT Messenger did — like tracking, sending canned “I’m OK” messages and making one-button distress calls — but also lets you use an Apple or Android app to send short custom texts or e-mails from anywhere there’s Globalstar coverage. This year such possibilities ramp up seriously with the introduction of the DeLorme inReach (delorme.com), which is built around an Iridium 9602 satellite modem that can do longer two-way messaging from virtually anywhere. The 9602 will soon be included in many devices, maybe even an MFD, and I’m hoping to see a boat-specific security and monitoring system like SPOT’s Hug with an app interface for flexible messaging.
I could go on and on with new ways mobile devices are being integrated with marine electronics, and I’m convinced that we’re seeing only the tip of the iceberg until the likes of Garmin and Navico show us what they’ve got cooking in their development labs. But there are some other trends in play, like the rapid development of certain purely marine technologies.
Consider compressed high-intensity radar pulse (CHIRP) fish finding, for instance. Last year I saw convincing demonstrations by both Simrad (simrad-yachting.com) and Garmin (garmin.com) showing how much better spread-spectrum sonar signals can image structure and fish than simple one-note pings can. This year Raymarine will join the CHIRP gang, and Airmar (airmar.com) continues to expand the variety of transducers that can support this vastly improved fish finding. And whereas the technology is built in large part on ever smaller, faster, smarter and less expensive signal processing, there’s reason to hope that it will get more accessible to smaller boats and budgets.
Radar is moving in a similar direction. Simrad and Lowrance (lowrance.com) continue to pioneer solid-state broadband radar, this year introducing a 4G model that purportedly both increases the extraordinary near-range resolution of the original models and decreases their long-range limitations. But the ongoing improvements in traditional magnetron radars — seen particularly in high-definition models from Furuno (furuno.com) and Raymarine — should not be overlooked. And this year Humminbird enters the small radar market with a 21-inch 4 kW radome that’s compatible with many of its existing MFDs and has a clever variable transmit exclusion zone that should make it as safe as broadband in tight-quarters installations.


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WhatsApp India has revealed that it is planning to launch the much-anticipated payment service by the end of the year. The company initially started testing the service back in 2017 on an invite-only basis. However, even after about two years, WhatsApp has not officially launched the service in the Indian market. This new information comes about two months after the last report about WhatsApp payments service. This report stated that the company was close to launching the service in India.
WhatsApp payments service launch details
Given that it has been more than two months since the last update, we were unsure about the launch timeline. However, Abhijit Bose, WhatsApp India head revealed the new estimate in an interview with The Economic Times. As part of the interview, Bose stated, “We hope to offer the service by the end of the year”. The company is planning to integrate the payment system with its WhatsApp for Business app. WhatsApp aims at enabling “end-to-end communication cycle” between the customers and small business using the app. It is planning to make the experience more seamless and efficient to increase sales.
Bose believes that this will make thing easier for small businesses across the country. The launch and integration of WhatsApp payments service along with the business app will help WhatsApp in its mission. He also shared details behind making the WhatsApp Business API a paid service in comparison to making the app free. As part of the explanation, Bose stated that Business API is a separate product. In addition, it is meant for medium and large businesses that communicate with their customers all across the world.
As per reports in the past, WhatsApp has already completed an audit regarding its data practices. WhatsApp is facing issues in launching the service because the Indian Government is wary of data privacy and security concerns. The government wants to ensure that all WhatsApp payment-related data is just stored in services inside India.


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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Facebook on Thursday introduced a host of new features that would allow users to summarize their posts and life stories, and better share such items as movies, news and music.
At the company’s F8 developers conference in San Francisco, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg rolled out a feature called Timeline, which would let users to display on a single page a summary of their posts and elements of their biography.
“Timeline is for you to express who you are,” Zuckerberg said in his keynote at the event. “It’s a great way to discover what people have done their all life.”
The social networking site also took the wraps off new apps and features that would allow users to discover and share such items as music, movies and news reports on the site.
“You don’t have to like a book, you can just read a book,” Zuckerberg said. “You don’t have to like a movie, you can just watch a movie.”
Facebook said it is also partnering with Netflix NFLX, +0.55% whose CEO Reed Hastings took the stage to announce a new app that would allow users to stream video from the online movie service. Hastings sits on Facebook’s board of directors.
Facebook also said it will be integrating music service Spotify into its sharing service. “It’s a big day for all the music lovers around the world,” Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said as he also appeared on stage with Zuckerberg.
Forrester Research analyst Sean Corcoran said Facebook’s new features could give the company a lift in its growing rivalry with Google Inc. GOOG, -0.02%
“Facebook is positioning itself as not just your social graph online, but your life online,” Corcoran said in an e-mail. “These changes not only help trump rival Google, but will open up new opportunities for marketers with new kinds of customer experiences, long term engagement, advertising, and customer intelligence.”
But Corcoran also noted that “concerns around privacy and immaturity in how to do these things effectively will make it a slow go.”
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Palm Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM)needs money to survive. Dell Inc. (Nasdaq: DELL)needs a handset business to compete. I think Dell should acquire Palm immediately. The union would benefit both companies, as well as investors, the industry and, most of all, users.
After years of wandering in the wilderness, Palm finally did the right thing. It completely restructured the company for innovation, changing executives, engineers, operating systems and even core assumptions about how a cell phone handset should operate.
And finally, it replaced CEO Ed Colligan with former Apple Inc. executive Jon Rubinstein, who headed the development of the iPod.
Unfortunately, all this came two years too late. As a result, the company is not likely to survive as an independent company.
I predicted this fate way back in early 2007 (“The decline and fall of the Palm empire”) when the company was still profitable and the economy wasn’t in recession.
In that column, I wrote: “The tragic story of Palm’s fall from greatness is a history of squandered resources and misplaced effort… Palm merges with another company only later to be spun off. The company ignores the founders’ direction, only to later acquire their start-up and take up its direction. Palm spins out the software division only later to buy back the rights to it. Palm gives up the Palm trademark only to later buy it back. How many times has Palm distracted, divided and plundered the company with spin-offs, acquisitions and mismanagement?”
Palm would benefit enormously from Dell’s corporate culture, which is competitive, disciplined and, above all, consistent. As part of Dell, Palm could continue its trajectory with the Pre, the now-threatened “Pixie” project (which is a low-cost candy bar phone that runs Palm’s WebOS and could sell for $99 or less) and the WebOS itself, which has enormous potential.
Palm needs the time to cultivate a developer community and ecosystem around the WebOS. It needs power and influence over Asian parts manufacturers and U.S. retail stores. Above all, Palm needs somebody to pay the salaries and electric bill until the new direction can bear fruit.
So what’s in it for Dell?
Dell has a serious case of handset envy. Apple, of course, has the iPhone. HP has the iPaq. (No, I’m serious. The iPaq still exists!) Acer acquired E-TEN, and should be shipping an Android cell phone in November.
Toshiba makes a range of Windows Mobile handsets.
Back in January, rumors were flying that Dell would launch a new Android-based handset at Mobile World Congress. In late March, reports surfaced that carriers and others who saw the Dell prototype were disappointed by it.
The last thing Dell needs is another embarrassing fiasco like its pathetic attempt to enter the media-player market. In the wake of the stunning success and dominance of the Apple iPod, Dell came out with a line of me-too, ho-hum music players called Dell Digital Jukebox and DJ Ditty.
Dell simply doesn’t have the design culture to produce a cell phone even approaching the Palm Pre — let alone the iPhone — in coolness, simplicity or appeal. The only way for Dell to be a serious player in the handset market is through acquisition.
Palm is the perfect acquisition for Dell. The Palm Pre targets exactly the kind of enthusiastic technical power user that already likes Dell laptops and PCs. The Pre isn’t a dumbed-down consumer phone, a boring-as-wood business phone or an also-ran Android phone. It’s the perfect flagship handset to launch Dell into the global handset in a big way.
Palm also has a strong legacy in business, which fits with Dell’s positioning.
But most of all, Dell needs a multitouch operating system.
As I’ve said many times before in this space, the future of both desktop and laptop PCs is an iPhone-like multi-touch user interface.
With both Microsoft and Apple dragging their feet, Dell is champing at the bit to get out there with multitouch netbooks, tablets and mini-tablets. As revealed by early demos, however, Dell doesn’t have a clue, and current offerings don’t have a prayer.
Guess who does know multitouch?
The Pre launched Palm into the same class as Apple in terms of gesture, physics and multitouch user interface design and execution.
Imagine the Palm Pre’s user interface on a tablet!
Launching a WebOS-based convertible tablet application before Apple gets out its inevitable multi-touch tablet would put Dell in the leadership position for the future of PCs.
This is precisely the kind of shock-and-awe move that Dell needs to climb its way back into contention with HP for the number-one spot in the industry, de-commoditize its PC business and fight off the loss of customers to Apple.
Dell: Who you gonna buy?
A published report stated that Dell CEO Michael Dell told a source that he expects to acquire a “significant-sized company” soon. Other evidence indicates that Dell is lining up its financial ducks for such an acquisition. The company is sitting on about $10 billion in cash, and Dell recently sold $1 billion in bonds.
Another published report states that Dell’s acquisition targets could include BMC Inc., EMC Corp., Affiliated Computer Services Inc. (ACS), Symantec Corp., Motorola Inc. and — you guessed, it — Palm. Of all these companies, Palm is the cheapest to buy, with a market value of just $1.7 billion (the actual price would be higher).
Meanwhile, Palm is never going to get a better price than right now, while the company is enjoying warm-and-fuzzy press and good vibes on Wall Street in the wake of its Pre launch.
Either the merger won’t happen, in which case both companies will continue slouching toward has-been status, or Dell buys Palm. In that case, the newly reconstituted company can rise to a position of dominance and leadership and bring sorely needed competition and innovation to the mobile space once again.
This marriage benefits everybody. I hope they do it.
Mike Elgan writes about technology and global tech culture. He blogs about the technology needs, desires and successes of mobile warriors in his Computerworld blog, The World Is My Office. Contact Mike at [email protected], follow him on Twitter or his blog, The Raw Feed.


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Some new rumored information about the still unannounced Nokia Lumia EOS with a 41MP PureView camera has surfaced. This phone is far from a secret because reports about its existence and possible specs have appeared numerous times before. The latest rumors suggest it might feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and the phone itself might be sold exclusively on AT&T.
Nokia supposedly has two versions of the Lumia EOS in testing: one with a dual-core processor and one with a quad-core processor. The quad-core would be a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. If Nokia can’t solve the battery life woes it’s allegedly experiencing with the quad-core model, it’ll have to ship the phone with a dual-core and unknown processor.
Other rumored features of the Nokia Lumia EOS is of course that highly praised 41MP PureView camera, an AMOLED display with a 1280x720p pixel resolution, a 2,000mAh battery, plus FM radio and LTE. It’ll run Windows Phone 8.
We currently don’t know anything about its launch — i.e. pricing and availability — and the name once this device hits the market is unclear as well. Some think it might be called the Nokia Lumia 1000, which does fit in better with Nokia’s tendency to include numbers in its smartphone names.


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Women’s chamber to mark 25th year with 25 honorees
- Staff Denver Business Journal
The Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce is celebrating its 25th anniversary next year with a dinner program recognizing 25 of the most powerful women in Denver on Jan. 16.
“CWCC Top 25 Gala: Recognizing Limitless Leaders” will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at The Four Seasons Denver, 1111 14th St.
Go to cwcc.org to see a list of the honorees and to buy tickets. Sponsorships also are available.
SBA taking award nominations
A new online portal has been launched by the U.S. Small Business Administration to accept nominations for its 2013 National Small Business Week Awards. Guidelines and nomination forms are available at http://nationalsmallbusinessweek.sba.gov. The deadline is Jan. 3.
Nine SBA awards are given in celebration of National Small Business Week, which will mark its 50th year in 2013. Among them are: National Small Business Person of the Year (chosen from among state award winners), Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year, Small Business Subcontractor of the Year and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Award for Excellence (for large prime contractors that have used small businesses as suppliers and contractors).
Awards: Julie Ekstrom, founder and CEO of Kanga Care in Golden, won a Gold Stevie Award as Entrepreneur of the Year and a Silver Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in the annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business. The awards are known as the world’s top honors for female entrepreneurs, executives and the organizations they run. The 2012 awards program received more than 1,200 entries from 17 nations and territories. Award winners were selected by more than 200 executives worldwide. Kanga Care makes baby products such as cloth diapers and diapers made out of organic cotton, bamboo and recycled water bottles, and it also sells baby gear and toys.
Send Briefcase items and color photos to Sharon Wright, associate editor, at firstname.lastname@example.org.
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The proposed authority will prescribe grading standards for specific agriculture produce, good agriculture practices, geographical origin of produce or particular marking of farming method as organic, prescribe and collect fees for registration of agricultural produce
markets and service providers.
In terms of agricultural produce
from the Philippines, large stocks of langsat, white onion, curly parsley, Philippine mango, garlic, morning glory leaves, bean sprout, paksoi, baby paksoi, saba, calamansi, guyabano, mangosteen (wild), jicamas, dragon fruit, durian, pomelo, papaya, tanglad, kamote (white and violet), kamias, ube, rambutan, pandan leaves, pineapple, banana, senorita banana, sweet corn and hass avocado will be available throughout the festival period.
The participating states have already reformed their Agricultural Produce
Market Committee (APMC) Act to ensure a single licence across states, a single-point levy of market fee and a provision for e-auctions as a mode for price discovery.
Taking into account repeated violations by Turkish producers, the Russian government has tasked the food safety agency with reinforcing control over supplies of agricultural produce
and food from Turkey," Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev said in a statement.
But Zakhour noted that this drop was compensated by an increase in exports from Beirut Port of agricultural produce
using refrigerated containers to 4,582 in June 2015 compared to 2,576 during the same month last year, an increase of 78 percent.
In Jan-Aug 2013 gross agricultural produce
made up 467.
New rules are going to be implemented for the importation of agricultural produce
in Bulgaria, stated Bulgarian Minister of Agriculture Dimitar Grekov.
ONION prices touched ` 55 per kg at the Vashi agricultural produce
market in Mumbai on Monday, signaling that prices of the vegetable will shoot upward of ` 65 per kg -- the rate at which it is being sold in most retail markets in the state now.
KUNDUZ CITY (PAN): More than 100 militants, including Chechens and Uzbeks, have recently entered the northern province of Kunduz, asking residents for Ushr (10 percent of agricultural produce
payable by Muslims), an official said on Sunday.
According to Xinhua, the president also encouraged farm enterprises to shift from exporting raw agricultural produce
by establishing rice mills, oil mills, refineries, and packaging facilities.
At the end of the day, (the price of) agricultural produce
is controlled by the Government of India; through MSME (Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), and also, exports and imports, all these things are happening," Naidu told media here.
INS explains that this rise is the result of the increase of exports of agricultural produce
and food industries (42.


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TOKYO (AP) ? Sony is reporting a 27 billion yen ($346 million) loss for the latest quarter, battered by a strong yen and poor sales of flat-panel TVs.
The Japanese electronics and entertainment company lowered its full-year earnings forecast Wednesday. It now expects to stay in the red for the fiscal year through March 2012.
Sony Corp. had earlier said it would return to profit, recovering from losses the previous fiscal year.


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Proof of a Verizon iPhone? Video
Proof of a Verizon iPhone? Video Transcript
Hi, I'm Molly Wood, and welcome to the Buzz Report, the show about the tech news that everyone's talking about. This week, it's Twitter's business plan, your embarrassing status updates preserved for all time, and a Molly Rant video. But first, it's the Gadget of the Week. The Gadget of the Week is the new Microsoft Kin line. The company announced two new feature phones this week, as a result of its Pink project and that time it bought Danger, you know, the ones who make the Sidekick. Now, there's a lot to distract you from the phones themselves -- the weird name, the hilarious hipster Website and video, and the fact that they have a social media sharing feature that they call the "Kin spot." That's ... bizarre. But ACTUALLY, these are pretty cool little phones for the social media set -- it's super easy to share pictures and comments and messages with your friends, and everything you do, like text message and, say, pictures you take with the Kin 2's 8 megapixel camera, is backed up into the cloud at the Kin Studio Website. I mean, they're neat. I might even want one ... if I spent more time at the beach or in clubs. Alas, I am a grown-up and must settle for the Droid. And now for the news. Twitter has a business plan! It's spam. I mean, "promoted Tweets." They are tweets that advertise something, but at first, they'll only show up as like, sponsored results when you search for something. Or, you might see them if you follow a specific company, like Starbucks. Although I guess Starbucks whole twitter feed is kind of a sponsored tweet. Anyway, Twitter says it's THINKING about maybe allowing these promotional tweets to show up in your regular Twitter stream down the road, but right now they really want the ads to be "contextual," and "organic," and "non- intrusive." In sum, it's like the most half-hearted business plan you ever did hear, and it seems like if anything it's just to get Venture Capitalists to stop freaking out and keep giving Twitter money. Guys. You're a free service on the Internet. It's time to face the facts. Ad- supported or bust. Literally. In other Twitter news, everything you've ever twittered will soon be indexed and searchable on Google. So, yeah, you thought future employers searching for you on Facebook was bad? Your drunk tweets and breakfast updates are now part of Web history forever. OH, and Twitter just donated its entire archive of tweets to the Library of Congress. Because ... we need to have a historical record of that one time in history when everyone communicated their arbitrarily abbreviated banal thoughts to each other all day, every day. So that, like, our grandkids can use it to make fun of us. This is going to be so embarrassing. In other news this week, Apple has delayed shipment of the iPad overseas, saying it has much higher U.S. demand than anticipated. Like I said ... eBay. Right? Right. And in other Apple news, new rumors that the date of the next iPhone announcement is June 22, and some screenshots surfaced this week that seem to show traffic going to an iPhone app from a Verizon iPhone. Didn't I tell you not to sign a new contract with AT&T? Didn't I? And finally, announcing a new segment on the Buzz Report ... Molly Rants. Hopefully you know about my new blog, at news.com/molly-rants -- the hyphen is its own rant. Well, some of you have been asking for it in video form. And here goes. This week, a government watchdog agency reported that most estimates about the impact of piracy AND counterfeiting on the economy are either totally made up or are simply wild assumptions. For example, the FBI said in 2002 that U.S. businesses lose 250 billion dollars a year to counterfeiting. When the General Accounting Office asked the FBI where they got that number, the FBI basically said ... we pulled it out of our butt. The Business Software Alliance said it lost 9 billion dollars to piracy in 2008. The GAO said ... that number also came out of their butt. The report also mentions the MPAA, which has already been busted for totally lying about the number of illegal downloads happening on college campuses, but keeps on making piracy look worse than it is with numbers that ... you guessed it ... totally came out of their butt. All of this fantasy-based information is the kind that leads to really bad, overly broad laws like the DMCA. And that lets the RIAA sue people into bankruptcy or just extort payouts from them based on totally fictional claims of lost revenue. Or, even better, it lets our own administration continue to negotiate this crazy global Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement in secret even though it's probably going to break the Internet and who knows what else. That is appalling. Some ... number-producing butt should seriously get spanked for that. And that's the Buzz Report for this week, everyone. I'm Molly Wood, and thanks for watching.
Here at Buzz Out Loud, we are shamelessly attempting to launch a meme, based on the awesome Twitter ramblings of a guy stoned off his gourd at the dentist. Quick, somebody make a Cafe Press shirt! Also, today's show is rant-central, between the news that They can take our laptops for as long as They want for no reason, Apple's killing of a short-lived iPhone tethering app, and the U.S. Congress' mandate that our nation's schools prop up our dying music industry. Good times.
In the tech news this week, Stephen and Brian bust me for buying an iPhone 4 on eBay to tide me over until there's a phone I really want--or until my Verizon contract is up. Nicole Lee joins us to talk about Nokia and Microsoft's new baby, the Lumia 800, and Sony's plans to get serious about making smart phones. Plus, stock advice from the gang, the coming nightmare that is the Stop Internet Piracy Act, and Computer Love.
Molly's back on the Buzz Report desk, and the iPhone, Transformer-themed laptops, and class-action lawsuit defendants are all taking a beating.
This week Kelly reveals her secret desire to break up with her iPhone, Molly rants about yet another addition to the homeless chic trend, and we discuss an app that helps you find out if that blind date is a creep. Also this week, we reveal the latest trend in iPhone accessories: sausages.
Consumer Reports says it can't recommend the iPhone 4 because the antenna issue can be replicated and is, in fact, serious. Fanboy response: suck it up and buy a case. Molly response: epic rant. Also, the RIAA's wildly inflated file-sharing damages are smacked down once again, and Reddit begs for money.
We may get the iPhone on Verizon after all, the first Android Netbook is finally a reality, and we have some empirical proof that you cannot surf porn on a plane.
Boobs on the iPhone, porn on Vudu, and junk on Chat Roulette. This week's episode proves, once again, that the Internet is for porn.
Molly's back with some hot dish on Windows Vista ... if you can stay awake for it. Plus, Verizon gets busted, and they fold like a house of cards.
Molly needs a break, but the tech news just won't stop. This week, groundbreaking new phones from Sprint and HP, exciting new WebOS tablets from HP. Oh yeah, and the Verizon iPhone launches.
Twitter wants to be your tool for discovering new music, Google Now may come to the iPhone, and each HTC One takes a long time to make.


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By Marien Casillas Pabellon
and John Pajak
We may not know for several months exactly how a temporary worker died this month at Amazon.com’s distribution center in Avenel, but there is already a lot we know about how companies like Amazon exploit temps and too often fail to protect them from physical danger.
Ronald Smith, a father of four and grandfather of seven, was killed when he was crushed by equipment in the Avenel center. Like tens of thousands of other temp workers, he was helping Amazon bring in more than $60 billion a year in revenue — creating so much wealth that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was able to buy the Washington Post and related businesses this year for $250 million.
The use of temporary workers has become increasingly popular with big corporations in recent years as a way to boost profits and CEO pay packages by providing lower wages and eliminating benefits. Large corporations often use contractors and temp agencies and then pretend they have no responsibility for the poor conditions workers face.
Earlier this year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced a new initiative to focus attention on corporations’ responsibility to protect temporary workers’ health and safety. The agency pointed out that an alarming number of temporary workers are killed in the first few weeks on the job. Twelve percent of workplace fatal injuries involve contractors, OSHA said, and of those, 28 percent were Latino.
As OSHA’s director, David Michaels, noted, temporary workers "often perform the most dangerous jobs, have limited English proficiency and are not receiving the training and protective measures required. Workers must be safe, whether they’ve been on the job for one day or for 25 years."
A study released this month by ProPublica, an independent, nonprofit center for investigative journalism, found that the incidence of temporary worker injuries over the past five years was between 36 percent and 72 percent higher than for regular workers, based on workers’ compensation records in five states in different regions of the country. Temporary workers were 68 percent more likely than nontemporary workers to be working in the 20 percent of occupations with the highest injury rate.
OSHA should be commended for calling attention to this urgent issue and for urging host corporations and temp agencies to meet their legal responsibility to provide safe conditions and proper training. But, unfortunately, lobbyists for big corporations often succeed at preventing Congress from providing the safety agency with the necessary resources to make employers obey the law.
At the same time, corporate special interests have been able to severely weaken enforcement of workers’ legal right to form unions in order to insist on safe conditions.
There is no way to restore Ronald Smith’s life. But in this holiday season, consumers can let public officials and companies such as Amazon know that we don’t believe that deaths, injuries and work-related illnesses ought to be part of the package as we send and receive our gifts.
Marien Casillas Pabellon is executive director of New Labor, an immigrant worker organization in New Jersey. John Pajak is president of the N.J. Work Environment Council, a coalition of more than 70 labor, environmental, and community groups. Keep the conversation going at njvoices.com.