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Adidas Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee have announced a new four-year partnership, making Adidas the official supplier of high-performance apparel and footwear for Canada's Olympians through 2016.
Canada's becomes the latest Olympic team to partner with Adidas, who also sponsors 11 other Olympic teams, including Team GB, Germany and France. The deal includes a high-performance collection of athletic apparel - including workout clothing, footwear and accessories - and sponsorship deals for seven Canadian Olympic hopefuls.
Sport Chek will carry the collection in its stores across Canada, as will select Canadian Tire stores starting in November.
Sport Chek and Adidas announced two-year sponsorship deals with seven notable Canadian athletes, who will earn financial support, be featured in a marketing campaign launching this fall and will be involved in community initiatives: short-track speed skater Charles Hamelin, bobsled pilot Kaillie Humphries, hockey player Meaghan Mikkelson, skeleton racer Jon Montgomery, snowboarder Maelle Ricker, alpine skier Erik Guay and ski cross racer Chris Del Bosco.
"As an elite athlete, it's nice to be associated with elite brands, and Adidas and Sport Chek are premium brands," said Montgomery, who won Gold at the Vancouver Olympics, but notes that Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton is actually in a $200,000 deficit and lost its title sponsor, VISA, after the 2010 Games.
"It's still a tough row to hoe for Canadian athletes when it comes to getting sponsorship dollars in the private sector - even for the seven of us standing up here. It's not an easy landscape to work within as far as private sponsorship in Canada, so it's so rewarding when a deal like this this comes together."
Back in January, the COC announced a new deal with Canadian Tire Corporation Limited (CTC), Sport Chek and Sports Experts. CTC entered into an eight-year agreement as a Premier National Partner of the Canadian Olympic Team, represented the largest commitment of its kind to amateur sport in the country.
The company also announced deals with the Canadian Paralympic Committee, the Canadian Soccer Association, Skate Canada, Hockey Canada, Alpine Canada and Canada Snowboard. Canadian Tire has increased its investment in sports retailing since purchasing Forzani Group Ltd. in 2011 - now FGL Sports Ltd. - and has been working to strengthen its Sport Chek and Sports Experts brands.
"We wanted to continue to build the brand in ways outside the Games window," said Chris Overholt, the Canadian Olympic Committee's CEO. "We announced HBC, RBC in fall of 2011 and since then have had regular announcements with partners, and there will be more to come. In our estimation, there was never a drop-off after the 2010 Games. Vancouver gave us an opportunity to take it to an all-new level. We're currently experiencing a level of endorsements previously not known, even in the run-up to Vancouver. There are more deals of that nature now than there have ever been. Seeing Canadian Tire, Sport Chek, and Adidas step up to support our athletes as they are, quite frankly, I think represents an altogether new chapter in Canadian sport history."
The COC, which oversees 52 individual Canadian national sport federations, has been active recently in landing new deals. It announced a new partnership with BMW Group Canada earlier this year, which will go through the next two Olympic Games: Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016. Last summer, surrounding the London Olympics, Bell, Air Canada, Suncor and General Mills all announced they were extending their deals with the COC for another four years. The COC also has deals with RBC and the Hudson's Bay Company.
It also received an unprecedented funding boost earlier this year of close to $100-million dollars to assist high performance sport, Games preparation, development and planning for the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games team.
The athletes will be appearing in TV commercials, among other promotions. Mikkelson has already appeared in Sport Chek commercials for Mother's Day and Father's Day, ads which depict her training regimen in and out of the hockey rink.
"It's been incredible, a little bit surreal at times - I had never shot a commercial before," said Mikkelson, who was a defenceman on Canada's 2010 gold-medal-winning team. "I'm really thankful they wanted me to be a part of it. There are a lot of phenomenal athletes in Canada, so I'm excited to be chosen."


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After the success of the Aghatti restaurant in La Mer, Binghatti Hospitality said it is determined to expand the brand in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with an investment of AED20 million ($5.4 million).
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Binghatti Hospitality said it is also offering exclusive discounts to the UAE’s military, police and students in Aghatti restaurants.
Muhammad BinGhatti, CEO of Binghatti Holding said:
“We are proud of the success witnessed in the Aghatti restaurant in La Mer, and we are determined to open more branches of the Aghatti brand during the two coming years.
“We are eager to take advantage of the great opportunities offered by the UAE’s unique position as a multi-cultural hub of eateries and hospitality.
BinGhatti added: “Thanks to the UAE’s progressive leadership, the country’ economic environment offers all the elements required for growth and success. We are honoured to offer exclusive discounts to members of the UAE’s military and police as they play a key role in the country’s development and success.”
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These systems that leverage cycles also relates to newer research on ‘incremental learning’. One of the drawbacks of Deep Learning systems is that of the problem that ‘fine-tuning’ the network by training against new data can destroy previous remembered capabilities. This is the problem of the network ‘forgetting’ its past learning. In an architecture developed by Stanford called “Feedback Networks”, the researchers explored a different kind of network that feeds back into itself and develops the internal representation incrementally:
What about the other tech giants? There’s very little we know about their unannounced projects other than the fact that they’re all being worked on. With all cases, interest in Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality seem to go hand-in-hand, as both are the hottest new immersive experience mediums in the industry. Google has been spending considerable amounts of money in their Virtual Reality department and is also reportedly developing a Mixed Reality device of their own. Intel has announced Project Alloy, a VR/MR headset hybrid set to release next year. Apple has several patents for Mixed and Virtual Reality headsets, both of which should see the light of day sometime in 2017/2019. Additionally, Facebook and Samsung have created entirely new departments with hundreds of employees dedicated to VR and related technologies, spending billions of dollars in the process. Even SnapChat could be tiptoeing their way into MR as well, with a steady stream of cash going into computer vision (which currently powers their popular Snapchat filters) and a new pair of glasses with 115-degree cameras (The Snapchat’s Spectacles), which could very well be a way to test out the market’s reception to wearables of this kind.


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Digital News Media Has Fallen Off its New Millennium Perch
The toast of the early 2000s, many prominent news and lifestyle sites like Vice and Buzzfeed have fallen on hard times.
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As they say in the news business, if it bleeds, it leads. So we’re leading with the news business, which has seen more blood than all 8 Dexter seasons combined.
The digital news industry has suffered bankruptcy filings, widespread layoffs, and complete shutdowns. Big names like Vice and BuzzFeed may or may not be on the chopping block, but it’s unclear who’s buying.
Blah, Blah, Blog
Twenty years ago, investors, reporters, and readers were caught up in the excitement of digital-only news and lifestyle sites — online outlets that were meant to disrupt conventional journalism and provide hard-hitting content (as well as a lot of cat videos) with unique voices that catered to Brooklyn hipsters, helicopter parents, adventurous foodies, and all other sorts of modern-day archetypes. This resulted in sites like Vice, Pitchfork, and BuzzFeed becoming, well, buzzworthy.
Jump ahead to now, and those same outlets are struggling to survive amid declining traffic and a lengthy downturn in the ad market. Condé Nast plans to have GQ absorb Pitchfork. BuzzFeed shut down its titular news operation in 2023, and its stock has plunged 97% since it went public in 2021. Last year, Vice Media, an outlet once valued at $5.7 billion, filed for bankruptcy before getting acquired by Fortress Investment Group for just $350 million. And now, The Wall Street Journal reports those latter two outlets are looking to shed even more weight:
- BuzzFeed wants to sell its food-based sites Tasty and First We Feast — home of the hit YouTube show “Hot Ones,” where celebrities are interviewed while eating Buffalo wings — sources told the WSJ. In addition to revenue generated through ad sales, Tasty also has its own line of cookware, a distinct factor for the brand.
- Vice bought Refinery29, a site focused mostly on young women’s fashion, in 2019 for $400 million. But now Fortress is in talks with prospective buyers as the site’s revenue fell to $30 million last year from roughly $50 million in 2022, the WSJ reported.
Fallen Angels: And we haven’t even mentioned legacy news media. The Los Angeles Times announced this week that it was laying off 115 employees — a fifth of its staff. The cuts come as the 142-year-old newspaper reportedly hemorrhages $30 million to $40 million each year due to declining subscriptions and ad revenue. That’s a lot of money even for its billionaire owner. The Washington Post, owned by another billionaire, is similarly losing tens of millions and slashing staff, too.


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Robyn Speaking at TEDx
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Articles From Past to Present
His comments are powerful, especially in light of the ongoing debate: Do artificial colors contribute to hyperactivity in kids? Are food dyes responsible for ADHD? What about cancer concerns, as suggested by the Center for Science in the Public Interest?
The fact of the matter is that you are going to get a different answer depending on who you ask. I learned this the hard way when I went to some of our leading pediatric allergists a few years ago to ask about the link between the introduction of GMOs into our food supply and the sudden epidemic we were seeing in the number of American kids with food allergies. They didn’t like the line of questioning and fired off some pretty aggressive responses. But given my background as a food industry analyst, I quickly learned that financial ties between doctors and agrichemical, food and pharmaceutical corporations can play a pretty important role in what these doctors are willing to say.
So when people get heated up around the science of food dyes, I find myself asking the same questions: Who has funded the research? Is there a financial incentive involved to protect the status quo? And are doctors that are speaking out on this issue in any way affiliated as spokespersons for either the food or pharmaceutical companies that stand to benefit from the continued use of these food dyes in foods?
Since there are usually extensive financial ties between doctors and food and pharmaceutical corporations, it is often helpful to turn to the consumer marketplace and food companies themselves for answers because money talks.
And interestingly, Kraft, Coca Cola and Wal-Mart have already removed these artificial food colors and dyes from the products that they distribute in other countries. They’ve reformulated their product lines in other countries and no longer include these food dyes, and they did it in response to consumer demand and an extraordinary study called the Southampton Study.
The Southampton Study was unusual in that it not only tested an overall number of six dyes (three of them are used in the US (Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6) and the other three are used in the UK) but also the combination of two ingredients: tartrazine (yellow #5) and sodium benzoate. The study’s designers knew that a child very rarely has occasion to ingest just a synthetic color or just a preservative; rather, a child who is gobbling up multicolored candies is probably taking in several colors and at least one preservative.
What’s amazing is that in the U.K., the federal food safety agency actually funded the Southampton Study that led to even U.S. corporations eliminating synthetic colors and sodium benzoate from their U.K. products.
And in response, a whole host of companies, including the U.K. branches of Wal-Mart, Kraft, Coca Cola and the Mars candy company (who make M&Ms), have voluntarily removed artificial colors, the preservative sodium benzoate, and even aspartame from their products. Particularly those marketed to kids.
When I first learned about this in the spring of 2007, I was stunned. Our American companies had removed these harmful ingredients from their products overseas—but not here?
When I first learned this, I found the information discouraging. But then I realized that we aren’t asking our corporations to reinvent the wheel, we are simply asking for them to place the same products on our grocery store shelves that they are selling overseas.
Because Kraft, Coca Cola and Wal-mart are living proof that is possible for giant corporations to make and sell kid-friendly, family-friendly, and healthy processed foods so that we can give our kids some special treats—like the U.K. versions of Starburst and Skittles, for example —without necessarily exposing them to a chemical cocktail that might also give them brain tumors, or leukemia, or the symptoms of ADHD, as the Center for Science in the Public Interest recently highlighted in their report “Rainbow of Risks”.
And it is inspiring (once you get over the initial shock) to see how far the companies have gone and how quickly they acted to remove these dyes from kids’ foods in other countries.
Asda, for example, the U.K. branch of Wal-Mart acted just one week “after details were leaked to the UK press of a study by researchers at Southampton University. . . ” They didn’t even wait for the study to be published—that’s how concerned they were about public opinion.
In an article published by the Food and Drink Federation, a Web site that monitors food issues in Europe, Jess Halliday reported that “Asda [U.K. Wal-Mart] has pledged to remove any artificial colours or flavours from its 9,000 own label products, as well as aspartame, hydrogenated fat, and flavour enhancers such as monosodium glutamate.”
Wow. The Southampton study didn’t even mention those last three items. Why was the U.K. Wal-Mart rushing to make such healthy choices, when the U.S. Wal-Mart still offered the same old stuff? Wal-Mart had even been slapped by a lawsuit from the Ajinomoto, the company that now makes aspartame, which claimed that U.K. Wal-Mart’s publicizing of its aspartame-free products was a kind of defamation—all while U.S. Wal-Mart continued to use the sweetener.
Can you imagine how grateful parents in the UK must be when they read this? “[U.K. Wal-Mart] will also meet the Food Standards Agency’s salt-reduction targets–two years ahead of the 2010 deadline,” the article continued.
Isn’t that amazing? Over in the U.K., our American companies rushed to meet government standards two whole years before they even go into effect. It begs the question, why?
According to Asda/U.K. Wal-Mart food trading director Darren Blackhurt, “We know that our customers, particularly those that are mums and dads, are becoming more and more concerned about what’s in the food they buy.” Indeed, the article continues, “consumer awareness of nutrition and food quality in the UK has soared in the last few years. . . ” Accordingly, U.K. Wal-Mart was planning to spend 30 million pounds, or about $50 million, to reformulate its product line, adding that, “in the main, taste will be unaffected.”
Pretty stunning, right? Clearly learning about this remarkable decision is sure to leave a few American parents a little hyperactive. And if you look at the decision a little more closely, you will discover that Asda/Wal-Mart was far from the only British company to respond to the Southampton Study in such a dramatic way. According to the Food and Drink Federation in the U.K., several companies—whether British-based or British division of American corporations—had started offering their customers color- and additive-free processed foods.
“We are aware of the recent publication from the University of Southampton on selected artificial colours, and we will continue to follow the guidance of regulators on this issue.”—Coca- Cola Great Britain. And in fact, on May 27, 2008, the story broke that Coca Cola was removing sodium benzoate from its products—but only in the U.K.
“Kraft Foods UK has no products aimed at children that contain the ingredients highlighted in the FSA [Southampton] study. . . . [W]ith our recent Lunchables reformulation in the UK, we reduced fat and salt, as well as removed artificial colours and flavours. Without compromising quality, taste and food safety, we will continue to see where we can make changes and still meet consumer expectations.”—Kraft Foods UK
"We know that artificial colours are of concern to consumers, which is why, in 2006, Mars began a programme to remove them from our products. . . in November 2007, Starburst Chews became free from all artificial colours. . . . in December 2007, Skittles were made free from all the artificial colours highlighted in a landmark study by Southampton University. . . We have already removed four colours mentioned in the Southampton study from Peanut and Choco M&M’s, and are in the process of removing the final one so they too will be free from these artificials during 2008.”—Mars UK
“Nestlé UK does not manufacture children’s products that contain any of the additives investigated by the FSA [Southampton] research. . . . and from September 2007, the UK’s favourite kids’ chocolate brand—Milky Bar—is to be made with all natural ingredients.”—Nestlé UK
"We are committed to replacing all artificial colours in our sweets. We note the Southampton University findings, but we had begun this process already because we are continually listening to our customers.” —UK Cadbury Chocolate division
Every time I read over those quotes, I find them absolutely stunning. Why are companies that operate in the U.K.—including our very own U.S. companies—so eager to take out the artificial colors there and so completely reluctant to do so here? Why are they willing to spend the money to reformulate their products there while refusing even to consider such a change-over here?
Maybe the answer can be found in a BBC report on Asda/U.K. Wal-Mart, “Explaining its decision to halt the use of artificial colours and flavours, Asda said it was acting because ‘mums and dads are becoming more and more concerned about what's in the food they buy.’” An Asda/U.K. Wal-Mart press release elaborates: “Reformulation was hard work, but it was a labour of love.” Well, why can’t they perform that same labor of love over here? Is it too much to ask for what they have overseas?
After all, we’re not asking them to reinvent the wheel—they’ve already removed these ingredients from their products elsewhere. So why can’t our children get the same protection? Why can’t they serve up the same products to us?
Today it is estimated that 50% of Hispanic and African-American children will develop diabetes, that 1 in 90 boys has autism, and that 1 in 4 children has asthma. The Journal of Pediatrics reported that from 2002-2005, there was a 103% increase in diabetes medication for children, a 47% increase in asthma medication, a 41% increase in ADHD medication and a 15% increase in high cholesterol medicine.
And while the science may be disputed, depending on who is funding the study, as to whether commonly used food dyes such as Yellow 5, Red 40 and 6 others made from petroleum pose a “rainbow of risks” that include hyperactivity in children, cancer (in animal studies), and allergic reactions, because of the problem of hyperactivity, the Center for Science in the Public Interest petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to ban the use of these dyes given that the British government and European Union have taken actions that are virtually ending their use of dyes throughout Europe.
Is it too much to ask for the same value to be placed on the lives of the American kids in their cost-benefit analyses that has been placed on the lives of kids in the UK?
As a proud American, it seems to me that our duty as moms and dads and concerned citizens is pretty clear. We have to get this information out there so that our government and our corporations listen to us, the way that governments and corporations in Europe, Australia, the U.K., Japan, and other developed countries listen to their citizens.
Because while our children may only represent 30% of our population, they are 100% of our future.
Perhaps it’s time that we value them like our country depends on it.
As to be expected, there is a scientist in the field of genomics aggressively speaking against one of my TEDx talks.
It’s not the first time that my work has come under fire, nor will it be the last as the information that I present is disruptive. To many, it creates a cognitive dissonance - a discomfort caused by holding conflicting ideas, beliefs or values and can often elicit a strong emotional reaction.
As it did just that over the weekend for a scientist at the University of Florida which houses the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
So when I looked into the work of the person making the accusations, I was not surprised that he had dedicated his life to plant research and genetic engineering. His commitment is remarkable. I understand it, because it is that same dedication that I have to my research and work into the financial engineering and the role it can play in the integrity of science.
That dedication, that level of commitment, is something to be honored, not slandered, as it is not without sacrific.
But his criticism was that of a subject that continues to raise itself as to whether or not genetically engineered crops are safe.
The scientific debate tends to center around whether genetically engineered crops have been “thoroughly tested,” while a debate around the financial engineering of the science continues to grow.
So let’s look at the science, because as the Union for Concerned Scientists states:
“Political interference in federal government science is weakening our nation's ability to respond to the complex challenges we face. Because policy makers depend on impartial research to make informed decisions, we are mobilizing scientists and citizens alike to push for reforms that will enable our leaders to fully protect our health, safety, and environment.”
In a Science Magazine in 2000, a Spanish researcher named Jose L. Domingo who later went on to write a 2007 paper, “Toxicity Studies of Genetically Modified Plants: A Review of the Published Literature,” found only seven peer reviewed papers on genetically engineered crop safety as of 2000, most of them dealing with short-term nutritional effects. According to Dr. Charles Benbrook, who worked in Washington, D.C. on agricultural policy, science and regulatory issues from 1979 through 1997, served for 1.5 years as the agricultural staff expert on the Council for Environmental Quality at the end of the Carter Administration, and following the election of Ronald Reagan, moved to Capitol Hill in early 1981 and was the Executive Director of the Subcommittee of the House Committee on Agriculture with jurisdiction over pesticide regulation, research, trade and foreign agricultural issues, what that means is that at the time that two genetically engineered products were approved for the food supply, there were no studies in the open scientific literature.
Let’s stop and think about that for a minute in the context of something that is more familiar.
Can you imagine if a medical device or a new pharmaceutical drug were introduced with no studies in the open scientific literature for public review? Or if a car was introduced onto the highway in the same manner?
The concern is shared by the National Academy of Sciences in the paper, Safety of Genetically Engineered Foods: Assessing Unintended Health Consequences, "As with all other technologies for genetic modification, they also carry the potential for introducing unintended compositional changes that may have adverse effects on human health."
Furthermore, according to Benbook, as of 2007 and Domingo's more recent and comprehensive review, a “Toxicity Studies of Genetically Modified Plants: A Review of the Published Literature", there are still no more than about ten studies assessing the toxicological impact of genetically engineered ingredients in our food supply, almost all are limited in scope and short term, with most of them dealing with genetically engineered foods other than corn and soybeans.
Which means that the bottom line is that there are no published, peer reviewed studies on the toxicological impacts of today's commercial genetically engineered ingredients now found in our food supply, and almost none on older genetically engineered ingredients, that provide evidence that show that these foods are toxicologically safe.
At the conclusion of the abstract for the paper, the author himself poses the question: “where is the scientific evidence showing that GM plants/food are toxicologically safe?”
To me, that is a question so important that it was unequivocally an “Idea Worth Spreading,” a question worth asking, a dialogue worth having.
Correlation is not causation but with the Centers for Disease Control now reporting that cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children under the age of fifteen, that there has been a 265% increase in the rates of hostpiatlizations related to food allergic reaction, it is worth noting that “no evidence of harm” is not the same as “evidence of no harm.”
What we are witnessing, through 55 members of Congress that have called for the labeling of these ingredients, the over 100 million Americans who have sent comments to the FDA asking for the same, an interest in a TEDx talk given by a former financial analyst, author and mother of four, is a movement, perhaps begun by the Spanish researcher with his ask for the scientific evidence showing that genetically engineered foods are toxicologically safe, and a call for the labeling of these foods until we have more science.
It is a call for studies that might alert a pregnant woman working on a farm about the impact that her exposure to these crops and the chemicals used to produce them might have on the health of her unborn babies.
It is a call for science and for the research that tells a mother if her child is allergic to conventional soybeans, the kind that has been in our food supply for generations, or if her child is allergic to the genetically engineered components now found in soybeans that were introduced in the late 1990s.
It is a call for the scientific tests that would enable a father to test his child for those differences at his allergist’s office.
It is a call for science and our right to know about the foods that we are eating and what their impact might be on the health of our families.
Is correlation causation? Not at all, but with millions of Americans beginning to wake up to the fact that we have additives in our food supply, from lean beef trimmings, to artificial growth hormones to genetically engineered ingredients, additives that were not in our foods a generation ago, we are asking for more science, integrity in science, full disclosure of the financial engineering behind the science, and for labels and the right to make an informed choice about what we are feeding our families.
We have learned what can happen if we don't find the courage to raise the issue and to ask the hard questions, from the tobacco industry to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, so I hope that the TED team will continue the conversation with consumers, genetic engineers as well as financial ones, economists and the medical community in a forum in which attendees can express their opinions and one that requires full disclosure of any institutional ties, research grants or patents of those involved to preserve the dialogue and the scientific integrity of the discussion.
Because as Carl Sagan once said, "We have designed our civilization based on science and technology and at the same time arranged things so that almost no one understands anything at all about science and technology."
An idea worth spreading? A dialogue worth having? Absolutely.
Scientific Integrity: Union of Concerned Scientists: http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/
Toxicity Studies of Genetically Modified Plants: http://www.biosafety.ru/ftp/domingo.pdf
Faculty Endowments: http://www.uff.ufl.edu/FacultyEndowments/ProfessorshipInfo.asp?ProfessorshipFund=007489
Kevin Folta's Blog: http://kfolta.blogspot.com/2012/03/complete-insanity-in-theater-built-by.html
UF Scientists Collaborate with Monsanto: http://news.ifas.ufl.edu/2011/10/14/uf-scientists-collaborate-with-monsanto-to-develop-improved-computer-model-for-corn-production/
Health Care reform should begin at the USDA...
The landscape of health has changed. No longer are our families guaranteed a healthy livelihood, not in the face of the current rates of cancer, diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer's and allergies. In the words of Elizabeth Warren, Harvard University law professor who is head of the Congressional Oversight


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Frankfurt - It was with a sense of apprehensive excitement that industry execs from around the world congregated at the Frankfurt Motor Show last week to symbolically usher in a brave new era where, by the next time you blink, electric propulsion will supposedly be the new normal.
Diesel vehicles, it seemed, were about as warmly received as that proverbial fart in the perfume perfume factory, following the much publicised dieselgate scandal that has cast suspicion on more than just one manufacturer, and even the petrolhead stars were overshadowed by the huge buzz that manufacturers created around their new lithium ion battery-powered ‘saviours’.
And they were out in their droves at Frankfurt.
BMW fired the show’s first salvo with its i Vision Dynamics Concept, which is set to eventually spawn a Tesla-rivalling four-door called the i5.
According to BMW, the concept manages a range of 600km between recharges and can accelerate from 0-100km/h in under four seconds.
Currently the longest-range electric car on the market is Tesla’s Model S 100D, which has a US EPA rated range of 539km. That should be just enough to nip range anxiety in the bud for many.
Such long-range batteries are rather expensive however, and today’s batch of less costly electric cars can’t come close to matching the Tesla’s range, although the situation is improving. Nissan’s new Leaf manages an EPA rated range of 241km (up from its predecessor’s 172km) and Chevrolet’s similarly-sized Bolt is said to be good for 383km.
Volkswagen is aiming to launch its “electric car line-up for the people” with the ID family from 2020 onwards (which includes a funky modern-day Kombi), and Frankfurt saw the latest ID Crozz crossover concept make its debut with a claimed range of 500km. Mercedes-Benz used the show to reveal its take on a future compact EV hatch in the form of the EQA concept, which claims 400km between charges.
It’s hard to find any major car company that hasn’t committed to offering an electric or hybrid variant of every model in its range by (insert not-too-distant year), after investing (insert dollar amount in billions) in electric vehicle development.
Some are even pouring on the styling charm in a bid to get pulses racing, such as Honda with its cute, retro-styled Urban EV Concept (above) that “sets the tone” for a 2019 production model.
Another Frankfurt headturner was Jaguar’s I-Pace race car that’s set to power the world’s first international race series for production-based battery vehicles, giving motorsport fans hope that there is still plenty of octane-free excitement in store after the EV revolution.
And yet when all the dust has settled, there are still plenty of practical hurdles that need to be cleared before electric vehicles become viable for the majority of buyers.
For starters the potential driving distances between charges are still on the low side, particularly problematic in countries such as the US and South Africa where long-distance driving is more prevalent.
The other big hurdle is that electric cars are still somewhat more expensive off the showroom floor, although this is likely to change with time as mass production efficiencies of scale take hold and new innovations surface.
Most experts seem to believe it’ll take less than a decade for electric vehicles to reach cost and convenience parity with their internal combustion engined equivalents. Bloomberg’s New Energy Finance researchers believe this will take place by 2022, while UK investment banking firm UBS made the bold prediction - after tearing a modern EV apart - that the breakeven point in terms of overall buying and running costs could come as early as 2018, in Europe at least.
Then comes the question of charging infrastructure. Fast-charging stations are still few and far between in South Africa, although the DTI-endorsed Electric Vehicle Industry Association, backed by BMW and Nissan, is intending to expand the footprint, while also lobbying for much-needed government incentives. Yet there is a catch 22 for motivating the infrastructure when buyer demand is currently so low, with BMW having sold only 76 i3s last year and Nissan just seven Leafs.
Even European countries are sitting with a demand vs infrastructure conundrum, not to mention the question of where all the electricity is going to come from - an even more pertinent point for load-shedding-wary South Africans.
But the real deal-breaker for many is that much of world’s electricity is still dirtily generated by coal. On top of that, the production of large batteries is far from CO2-neutral, with Swedish Environmental Institute IVL equating one battery’s production to 700 hours of driving in a conventional car. And what about naughty kids unplugging charging cars in the dead of night, and, and, and…
Just don’t be too quick to dismiss the battery-powered car, nor its hydrogen fuel cell powered cousin, which faces even bigger cost and infrastructure hurdles, but none of which couldn’t be solved with a decent breakthrough or two. The spluttering, rudimentary internal combustion ‘driverless carriages’ of the late 19th century must have seemed on the road to nowhere at the time, yet look what they eventually evolved into.
Electric cars will almost certainly surge ahead. Just not tomorrow or the next day. Blink if you must.


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Online shopping sites like customers to leave star ratings and comments about what they have bought – but thousands of these reviews are alleged as false.
Go to any web site offering work to freelance writers and you probably see online traders seeking positive reviews posted on shopping sites in return for cash.
Now, in admission that bogus reviews are getting out of hand, international online retailer Amazon has filed a lawsuit in Seattle, Washington against more than a thousand traders allegedly peddling fake ratings and customer comments.
Amazon has not named the targets of their ire, but refreshingly explained ‘false, misleading and inauthentic’ reviews were damaging their brand.
Spook reviews are nothing new – freelance jobs boards regularly offer the gigs.
Breach of trust
In most cases, the reviewer never even see the product, but just makes up a glowing testimonial for posting to Amazon and other web sites.
The testimonials cost as little as $5 on freelance site Fiverr and help build a seller’s ‘trusted’ profile online.
“Traders are not posting a huge number of these testimonials, but these reviews break the trust between customers and sellers and the reputation of platforms like Amazon,” said the lawsuit.
Amazon also explained that the deception had been proved with fake purchases – and revealed reviews are tracked by IP address which discloses if the same person is posting regularly.
“Some people try to get round this by posting from more than one IP address, but we have systems in place to track this,” said a spokesman.
Both Amazon and Fiverr agreed Fiverr was not to blame for the spoof reviews and in a joint statement, both organisations stated they were working together to resolve the problem.
Amazon allows anyone to review a product, whether they buy a product or not, but the terms and conditions prohibit made-up reviews.
In a broader context, the lawsuit must lead shoppers to ask if they are duped by marketing material, reviews and ratings.
If multinational companies such as Amazon and Volkswagen – perpetrators of the exhaust emissions scandal – are publishing material that misleads customers, the ethics of other business and review sites who do not verify reviews must be called into question as well.


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Displaying items tagged: Neogen Corp
MiBiz Growth Report: July 18, 2022
Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for July 18, 2022:
Neogen, 3M announce blockbuster merger to create ‘global leader’ in food safety
Lansing-based food and animal safety products manufacturer Neogen Corp. plans to combine with conglomerate 3M’s food safety business.
MiBiz Growth Report: Sept. 26, 2021
This is the MiBiz growth report for September 26, 2021.
Neogen acquires Ireland-based food quality diagnostics firm
LANSING — Food and animal safety products manufacturer Neogen Corp. continues its international expansion with the acquisition of a supplier of analytical products deployed in food and beverage quality control laboratories.
Neogen to acquire U.S. rights to cattle pour-on insecticide
Lansing-based food safety company Neogen Corp. is poised to acquire an industry-leading beef cattle insecticide.
MiBiz Growth Report: April 12, 2020
This is the MiBiz growth report for April 12, 2020.
Neogen completes fifth international deal of 2020
LANSING — Food and animal safety products manufacturer Neogen Corp. completed its fifth international deal of 2020 with the acquisition of a Chile-based company.
MiBiz Growth Report: March 15, 2020
MiBiz Growth Report for March 15, 2020.
Neogen acquires Australian firm, fourth international deal of 2020
LANSING — Food and animal safety products manufacturer Neogen Corp. has acquired its fourth international business this year.
MiBiz Growth Report: February 16, 2020
This is the MiBiz growth report for February 16, 2020.
Neogen completes third international deal in 2020
LANSING — Neogen Corp., a food and animal safety products manufacturer, has completed its third international acquisition this year with a deal for a U.K.-based firm.
Growth Report: January 18, 2020
This is the growth report for January 18, 2020.
Neogen acquires Italy-based food safety products distributor
LANSING — Neogen Corp. announced its second international acquisition in a week with a deal for Italy-based Diessechem S.R.L., a distributor of food and feed safety diagnostic products.
Neogen acquires South American animal safety products distributor
LANSING — Food and animal safety products manufacturer Neogen Corp. has acquired a longtime distributor in South America.
Neogen acquires Alberta-based animal genomics lab
The acquisition of an animal genomics laboratory in Alberta will position Neogen Corp. to more rapidly grow its business in Canada.
MiBiz Growth Report: Sept. 17, 2018
Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for Sept. 17, 2018.
Neogen acquires Livestock Genetic Services
A Mid-Michigan food and animal safety testing products company has purchased a Virgina genetic testing firm specializing in services for cattle breeding organizations.
MiBiz Growth Report: Aug. 6. 2018
Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for Aug. 6. 2018.
Neogen president/COO resigns
The new CEO at Neogen Corp. plans to take on the role of company president.
MiBiz Growth Report: Sept 18, 2017
Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for Sept 18, 2017:
MiBiz Growth Report: Aug. 21, 2017
• M&A: Three Rivers-based Armstrong International Inc., a fifth-generation family-owned manufacturer of energy management products, has acquired Delta2 s.r.l. of Milano, Italy, according to a statement. Delta2 makes control valves and pneumatic operators for the oil and gas, food, pharmaceutical, power and industrial markets.
Neogen to invest $1.3 million in Lansing expansion
Neogen Corp. will invest $1.3 million into rehabbing a closed facility in Mid-Michigan.
Staying the course: Manufacturers’ R&D spending expected to remain steady through 2018
West Michigan manufacturers continue to take a steady yet conservative approach to research and development spending.
Neogen appoints Adent as CEO
The head of a major Neogen Corp. customer is taking over as CEO of the maker of food and animal safety products.
MiBiz Growth Report: Jan. 9, 2017
zHere is the MiBiz Growth Report for Jan. 9, 2017.
• M&A: Grand Rapids-based Irwin Seating Co. signed a letter of intent to purchase American Seating Co.’s architectural fixed seating business in a deal expected to close in March 2017, pending due diligence. The business includes products for stadiums, auditoriums and other large venues. The company’s move to divest a “higher profile part of our business was an extremely difficult decision to make,” Chairman and CEO Ed Clark said in a statement announcing the transaction. The sale comes as American Seating seeks “to optimize its operations and resources in order to pursue significant growth opportunities” in its transportation seating business, where the company will continue to focus. American Seating intends to lay off 80 workers early this year as a result of the deal. However, a portion of that workforce may transition into roles at Irwin Seating, according to the statement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Neogen inks fourth deal of 2016 with Brazilian manufacturer
Neogen Corp. has acquired Rogama Indústria e Comércio Ltda. of Brazil, marking Neogen’s fourth acquisition this year.
Acquisitions boost Neogen revenues to double-digit growth
A combination of increased sales and growth by acquisitions over the past year resulted in strong performance for Neogen Corp. in the second quarter of its 2017 fiscal year.
MiBiz Growth Report: Dec. 12, 2016
Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for Dec. 12, 2016:
• M&A: Blue Wolf Capital Partners LLC, a New York-based private equity firm, has acquired the North American operations of New Zealand-based Tenon Limited. The company will be based in Grand Rapids and operate under a new name, Novo Building Products LLC. Novo is a manufacturer and distributor of speciality building products. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Neogen closes third deal of 2016 with acquisition of UK chemical maker
Neogen Corp. has acquired Quat-Chem Ltd., a chemical manufacturer of biocidal cleaning and disinfectant products based in the United Kingdom.
MiBiz Growth Report: May 16, 2016
Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for May 16, 2016:
• M&A: Indianapolis-based The XLerate Group, a portfolio company of Detroit-based private equity firm Huron Capital Partners LLC, has acquired Jenison-based Grand Rapids Auto Auction. The deal represents the second acquisition in a year for The XLerate Group, which acquired Schoolcraft-based Greater Kalamazoo Auto Auction in May 2015. XLerate provides dealer-to-dealer auto auctions for used vehicles. Grand Rapids Auto Auction, located at 2380 Port Sheldon Ct., provides used vehicle remarketing to fleet and leasing companies and dealers in Michigan, Illinois and Ohio. Terms of the deal were undisclosed. Through the acquisition, XLerate now has local auto auctions that operate 17 physical and mobile sites in Michigan, South Carolina, California, Texas, Wisconsin and Florida.


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Banks' dominance of electronic payments could be coming to an end as alternative methods continue to soar in popularity, a new study has indicated.
Research published today (23 July) by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has revealed an increasing number of people are using newer payment technologies that are easier and cheaper than traditional routes such as bank transfers.
For instance, PayPal was used in 150 million transactions worth a total of £1.2 billion ($1.86 billion) across the UK throughout 2011 - a fact that meant credit and debit cards were used less frequently than in previous years.
Indeed, 33 per cent of the retailers questioned indicated they had accepted emerging payment types such as PayPal, Google Checkout and Amazon Payments during last year, with 50 per cent insisting they will be ready to do so by the end of 2012.
Stephen Robertson, director-general of the BRC, commented: "With the market moving away from them, the banks should be making their transaction charging regimes clearer and, above all, cheaper for retailers."
By Gary Cooper
Ten years on, GBST’s award-winning Composer platform will continue to power AJ Bell’s growing business across its advised and direct-to-co...View article
Treasury Group of National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has announced the successful launch of phase one of the transformation of its Treasury and Investment ...View article
Broadridge, a global Fintech leader, today announced the successful go-live of its transformative distributed ledger repo (DLR) platform. Early partic...View article


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Displaying results 1 to 5 of 5.
19. May 2023 Ströer kicks off campaign for GREENTECH FESTIVAL sustainability Environment Climate Festival for green technologies and sustainable lifestyle from June 14 to 16, 2023 in Berlin. From June 14th to 16th, 2023, the GREENTECH FESTIVAL will take place on the grounds of the former Tegel Airpo
On September 8 th , Hamburg’s communication infrastructure will be tested as part of a fictitious storm surge. Further federal states, participating rural and urban districts and municipalities will test their warning in a joint exercise. At 11.00 am, the participating authorities and emergency serv
Ritter Sport, the German chocolate bar manufacturer, has been selling five additional, completely vegan chocolate varieties in addition to classic chocolate since the beginning of the year. The five vegan Ritter Sport varieties are available in the new pack design with the large "V" as the key visua
A vertical garden at the heart of the city. In a first for the Company, Ströer has greenscaped a railway underpass on Munich’s busy Rosenheimer Strasse. It took 15 weeks of preparation to create the verdant garden that covers around 90 square meters and features eleven different plants. The garden i
In 2023, Ritter Sport intends to continue its vegan success story and is succeeding with digital outdoor advertising from Ströer: Ritter Sport relied heavily on Ströer’s nationwide digital reach in public spaces from January to April to launch its new vegan varieties. During this period, all of Strö
Latest blog news
28. September 2023


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Verizon has announced some major internal shuffling: It will create three new operating groups, one each for consumers, business customers and media offerings. The restructure reflects a race between internet providers to offer faster speeds.
Marketplace Tech Blogs
Phone carriers can sell location data to third parties, and you can't opt out.
The company’s expertise in designing mobile operating systems translates well to cars.
Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission proposed penalties against Main Street Telephone, VoiceNet Telephone, LLC, Cheap2Dial Telephone,...
News In Brief
MID-DAY UPDATE: AT&T hopes to acquire T-Mobile, Japanese concerns mount over food radiation exposure
Here are today's headlines from The Marketplace Morning Report and around the web. ...


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Apple’s new iPhone 4S consumes on average twice as much data as the previous iPhone model and even more than iPad tablets due to increasing use of online services like the virtual personal assistant Siri, an industry study showed.
When Apple rolled out the iPhone 4S in October, its small improvements disappointed many analysts and reviewers, but consumer demand for the device has been strong, and buyers have extensively used their devices.
IPhone 4S users transfer on average three times more data than users of the older iPhone 3G model which was used as the benchmark in a study by telecom network technology firm Arieso.
What’s the Future of Tabs After Apple Had Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Banned in Australia and Europe on Patent Infringement?Posted: August 12, 2011
Now that Apple has successfully forced Samsung to withdraw its Galaxy Tab 10.1 from both the Australian and European markets we have to ask, what next for the tablet market? In Australia, Apple used its arsenal of patents to get the tablet withdrawn from sale, whereas in Europe it used design rights to argue that the Galaxy Tab looked too similar to the iPad.
Samsung must now be wondering what to do with the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Patents experts question whether it’seven possible for the tablet to be reworked to avoid infringing Apple’’s overly broad patents and still be a desirable device. One of Apple’s key patents is on ‘list scrolling and document translation, scaling, and rotation on a touch-screen display’, without which it would be difficult to make a tablet that meets the expectations of its users.
Design experts too must now be wondering if it’s possible to create a tablet that doesn’t look so similar to an iPad that it will fall foul of the same design rights that Apple used against Samsung in the German courts.
Google Inc. accused rivals Oracle Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. of waging an “organized, hostile campaign” against the Internet search giant’s Android mobile phone software, using questionable patents.
“They want to make it harder for manufacturers to sell Android devices,” Google Chief Legal Officer David Drummond wrote on a company website. “Instead of competing by building new features or devices, they are fighting through litigation.”
The campaign against Android is being waged “through bogus patents,” Mr. Drummond wrote, adding that “Microsoft and Apple have always been at each other’s throats, so when they get into bed together you have to start wondering what’s going on.”


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Kalligraphic Design has developed the latest campaign for Cable London Business Telecoms, using the theme of extra sensory perception. According to the Surrey consultancy, it ‘reflects the sixth sense’ provided by CLBT in reacting more quickly, working more efficiently and improving services for client companies.
The CBD company – which is “by women for women” – has branding that resists the more bohemian tropes of CBD and leans into luxury instead.
A reading initiative for young prisoners answering a Penguin brief was one of two projects to scoop the top prize, while 213 pencils in total were awarded to winning work.
The Australian energy start-up Edify was founded in 2015 but needed an identity to match its “established success” and wider work network.
The platform has been developed in partnership with software developers and designers EPAM, and will be targeted at children and their families in Europe and Central Asia.


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The Vivo Y51 was first introduced in December 2015, and the Chinese tech company refreshed the model with the same name in September this year. It appears that the company has launched another edition of Vivo Y51 in Indonesia that is quite different from the September-variant of the smartphone in terms of design and specifications. The new Indonesia-variant of Vivo Y51 looks similar to the Vivo X50 smartphone, though it packs triple cameras at the back. The previous version of Vivo Y51 comes with quad rear cameras. Meanwhile, a report recently suggested the launch of Vivo Y51 in India, but with two models existing with the same name, it is unclear which model will arrive in the country.
The Vivo Y51 comes with a price tag of IDR 3,599,000 (roughly Rs 18,800) in Indonesia for the single 8GB + 128GB storage option. It is available for pre-orders via Shopee.co.id in Titanium Sapphire and Crystal Symphony colour variants. To recall, the Vivo Y51 that was launched in September is priced at roughly Rs 16,300 in select markets. The Chinese smartphone maker is yet to share its global availability details.
In terms of design, both the September-variant and the new edition of Vivo Y15 retain the waterdrop notch that houses the front camera. However, the new Vivo smartphone carries triple rear cameras inside a rectangular module. It features a relatively larger 6.58-inch full-HD+ (1,080×2,408 pixels) LCD display (unlike 6.38-inch display on the earlier model). Under the hood, it packs the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 SoC but with 8GB of RAM. Moreover, the internal storage of 128GB is expandable up to 1TB with a microSD card. Its triple camera setup includes a 48-megapixel primary camera with f/1.79 aperture, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with f/2.2 aperture, and a 2-megapixel camera with f/2.4 aperture. The rear cameras support modes like portrait, 4K video recording, ultra-stable video, pano, live photo, slow-mo, time-lapse, super night mode, and more. For selfies, there is a 16-megapixel snapper.
Other features on the Indonesia variant of Vivo Y51 include dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0 for connectivity, a 3.5mm audio jack, and more. It comes with a 4,500mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging. The phone is touted to offer 14.3 hours of video playback.


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20 June 2010
KFC - Smaller Products
It is a well known fact within the Junk Food Manufacturing Industry that it's products are getting smaller every year, whilst at the same time escalating in price to the consumer.
As an example corpau.blogspot.com measured Kentuckey Fried Chicken towels in its posession.
The packaging of the currently served towel illustrated on the left measures 5.4cm compared to that of 6.0 of a couple of years prior.
In a recent article on A Current Affair, titled Big Mac or smaller mac Mac Donalds said
"you cannot compare the same product of 20 years in difference as there are different market trends".
If a burger bun measures 14 cm 20 years ago and measures 10cm today. Simple mathematics indicated that it has SHRUNK 4 cm.
BIGGER means BIGGER and SMALLER means just that IRRESPECTIVE of 'trends'.
Macdonalds has stated that some of its burgers ARE smaller.
Choice magazine has also stated that the products are smaller.
Large Corporations defraud the public (LIE) and there are NO PENALTIES.
If an individual lies in court it's called perjury.
Donut King also do NOT supply 1 serve of sugar BUT 10% less.
Currently a Burger meal from KFC in Australia costs $8.20
for a Burger, Regular Chips and a drink


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Beauty marketplace Vanity Wagon raises $2 million in funding
Vanity Wagon, a beauty marketplace has raised around $2 million (Rs 16 crore) in pre-series A funding round led by Agility Ventures Partners and Lotus Herbals Private Limited at a valuation of $8 million.
Inflection Point Ventures, Venture Catalysts, and other high net-worth individuals also participated in the funding round.
The start-up will utilise the funds to strengthen its position in the market by investing in brand building, expansion of private label portfolio, offline retail, technology, and marketing.
Commenting on the funding, Naina Ruhail, co-founder of Vanity Wagon in a statement said, “Our vision is to build a sustainable and a legacy brand in the beauty segment which will only be strengthened by this investment. Furthermore, our strategy to go omnichannel, co-own more clean beauty brands, and expand internationally is what a part of this investment will be deployed in.”
Dhianu Das, co-founder of Agility Ventures added, “Vanity Wagon allows investors an opportunity to be a part of one of the fastest-growing industries, Beauty. The industry has seen several unicorns and several companies that have outgrown the market constantly, and still, the market continues to grow. This signifies a strong future for not only beauty but for commerce.”
The Delhi-based start-up was launched by Naina Ruhail, Prateek Ruhail, and Sahil Shrestha in 2018 and currently services 50,000 pin codes across India with over 350 brands in its portfolio.
Copyright © 2023 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.


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23-year-old from Ilford and friend ate ‘gummy’ synthetic cannabinoid from packet bought via message app, police say A case report suggests that CBD oil contributed to someone's death. Some scientists—and the weed industry—aren’t so sure. Law student had ordered the "Trrlli Peachie O" branded product via a cellphone messaging app.
Woman dies in east London after eating ‘cannabis sweet’
A woman has died in east London after eating a suspected “cannabis sweet”.
The 23-year-old from Ilford bought the “gummies” via a messaging app on her phone and they were delivered to her home in Ilford on 29 March, the Metropolitan police said. The sweets came in packaging branded “Trrlli Peachie O’s”.
The woman and her 21-year-old friend ate one each and immediately became ill. Paramedics were called to the house on the same night, and the two women were taken to hospital.
Despite treatment the 23-year-old, who has not yet been named, died on 2 April. A postmortem is still to take place. Her friend has been discharged from hospital.
Leon Brown, 37, from Croydon, has been charged with possession with intent to supply a class B synthetic cannabidoid, being concerned in the supply of a synthetic cannabinoid and possession with intent to supply a psychoactive substance. He was arrested on Friday in connection with the death.
Scotland Yard said he was found in possession of a large quantity of money and what were believed to be edible cannabis products. He was to appear at Barkingside magistrates court on Monday.
Some of the sweets have been recovered and are now being tested. Officers believe the case could be linked to another incident in March in which a woman was taken to hospital after eating a cannabis sweet in nearby Tower Hamlets.
She has since been discharged, but an investigation is under way to find out whether the sweet was from the same batch involved in the Ilford death, and to examine whether there are any other similar incidents.
Ch Supt Stuart Bell said: “I must warn the public against taking any illegal substances, including those packaged in the form of cannabis sweets.”
He urged people to come forward with any information about people selling similar products.
Parents have previously been warned about sweets laced with cannabis after they found their way into the hands of children.
Two 13-year-old boys were taken to hospital in Merseyside in July last year after eating sweets, and detectives in Greater Manchester told parents to be on alert during Halloween season trick-or-treating.
The headline and standfirst of this article was amended on 4 April 2022 to clarify that the sweet was believed to be a synthetic cannabinoid.
The Bizarre Case of a Death Allegedly Caused by CBD Oil
A case report suggests that CBD oil contributed to someone’s death. Some scientists—and the weed industry—aren’t so sure.
Two days after trying a new CBD oil extract to treat her chronic pain, a 56-year-old woman developed an awful rash.
Her primary care physician prescribed antihistamines and prednisone, a common steroid used to treat inflammation. She went home. The rash got worse. From a local emergency room, she went to a hospital burn unit. There, the rash went out of control.
Angry red lesions broke out over 30 percent of her body, including her eyes and groin. Skin peeled from her arms and back. Doctors administered more antibiotics, more anti-inflammatory steroids. They didn’t work. After a month of suffering, she was dead from septic shock, the final result of a rare and extremely serious allergic reaction called Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS), according to an account published February in Case Reports in Ophthalmological Medicine.
Companies Making CBD Gummies, Vapes, and Lube Got Millions In Bailout Loans
Described by the Mayo Clinic as both “rare and unpredictable,” Stevens-Johnson Syndrome is typically triggered by “a medication, an infection or both.” According to the British NHS, among the “medicines that most commonly cause” the affliction is the “oxicam” family of anti-inflammatory drugs. The woman had been taking meloxicam for arthritis, but that’s not what killed her, according to the case report, written by a group of eye doctors from SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York. She had already been on meloxicam without any reported complications, after all.
What set off the fatal allergic reaction, they claim, was the product she had tried. It was a new brand of cannabidiol (CBD) oil she was taking for back pain; she had previously taken other CBD brands without issue. Though the new CBD oil she used was not tested for impurities, either some unknown ingredient in the oil or some reaction triggered by the CBD was the most likely cause of the allergic reaction and subsequent death, the doctors wrote, published under the title “Commercial Cannabis Oil–Induced Stevens-Johnson Syndrome.”
If true, the news that a cannabis product killed someone would amount to the upending of a longstanding claim from weed legalization advocates that the drug is so safe no one has ever died from it. And this wasn’t a case of high-THC cannabis allegedly causing psychosis—it was a possible reaction to CBD oil, an increasingly popular and widely available wellness product in the United States.
Physicians and medical professionals with expertise in cannabis consulted by VICE were divided on the merits of the medical journal article. But though they argued over the value of the case study and what (if anything) it means, one common theme emerged: it’s still the Wild West days for CBD, a drug that is still poorly studied, poorly understood and—with products of wildly varying potency and purity available online in all 50 states, at gas stations and novelty shops and corner bodegas—almost entirely unregulated.
News of the “first death caused by CBD” made ripples in the weed world and on social media. Project CBD, a cannabidiol advocacy organization, published a rebuttal that criticized “CBD skeptics and click-bait confabulators” rushing to blame a cannabis product, while raising the possibility that the oil could have reacted with the woman’s medications to fatal effect.
Peter Grinspoon is a physician on staff at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and a professor at Harvard Medical School who frequently blogs about cannabis and other drugs on Harvard’s website (his father is Lester Grinspoon, the Harvard psychiatrist who authored Marihuana Reconsidered, one of the bibles of cannabis-policy reform, in the 1960s). Grinspoon was skeptical that the death had much to do with CBD.
“It’s unlikely that this is the first case in 5,000 years of a cannabinoid causing Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS), but it is certainly possible,” he said.
Grinspoon allowed that CBD could have inhibited liver enzymes metabolizing the meloxicam, raising its potency and lowering the body’s defenses, thus triggering the allergic reaction. It’s possible that the CBD, the meloxicam and the other pharmaceuticals the woman was taking could have set off a sort of perfect storm.
But since the SUNY ophthalmologists did not analyze the CBD oil—and offered up theoretical adulterants as a cause, apparently without knowing whether they were in the CBD product or not—“they have no idea, really, what this patient consumed, and it seems sort of intellectually reckless to pin the death on CBD,” Grinspoon said.
“Researchers are always eager to try to be the first ones to tie a death to a cannabinoid as this gets you in the news,” he added.
Some experts were even more dismissive of the case study. “I think the paper is shite,” Jeffrey Hergenrather, a physician and former president of the Society of Cannabis Clinicians, wrote in an email. “Regarding CBD and the association with SJS, I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
The case report did not address what possible contaminant in the offending CBD oil might have been and what it might have done. Nor did it state the size and frequency of the CBD dose taken or any of the patient’s genetic factors that might have been an equal or greater risk factor for Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, he said. Instead, the authors went straight to the CBD—and that, he pointed out, is a classic tell of anti-cannabis bias. “As usual it is easy to publish a case report implicating harm with a cannabis product,” he said. “Cannabis is an easy target for assertions of harm.”
Other researchers similarly pointed to gaps in the knowledge.
“I don’t remember seeing any other case reports associated with cannabidiol, but that being said, we don’t know what else was in the cannabidiol products that might be associated with this type of disorder,” said Ziva Cooper, a pharmacologist and the research director at the University of California, Los Angeles’s Cannabis Research Initiative.
Side effects of drugs like meloxicam are known because “thousands of people” using it “have been tracked. And this has not been the case with cannabidiol,” she said.
How to Get Into Weed While You’re Self-Isolating
The case report notes that the “new liposomal CBD extract spray” came from Natural Native, a CBD company based in Oklahoma. Last November, the company received a warning letter from the Food and Drug Administration. On Facebook and on its website, Natural Native broke several FDA rules for marketing CBD water, marketing CBD products intended for infants and otherwise making scientific claims that suggested CBD was a drug that could help with health conditions ranging from acne to chronic pain to cancer. (CBD is a “drug” in the taxonomical sense, but in the legal sense, a drug needs FDA approval to be marketed as such.)
In this, the company is hardly unique. Making unsubstantiated claims about CBD’s medical benefits or marketing CBD products as medicines or food products in violation of FDA rules is unscrupulous, but also happens often enough that it’s almost become a cannabis industry standard.
In interviews with VICE, Danny Bannister, one of Natural Native’s owners, did not deny crossing the line with the FDA. But nonetheless, he said, the case report could baselessly damage his business. He has been trying, to no avail, to get the title of the paper changed.
Bannister first heard about the case report in late February, when one of his competitors emailed the story to a retail client of his. The title, Bannister pointed out, is “Commercial Cannabis Oil-Induced Stevens-Johnson Syndrome,” which sounds conclusive. Only toward the end of the report’s discussion section do the authors admit that it’s still “unclear if marijuana-derived/CBD products can induce” SJS, and that it’s a subject that requires more study as well as general clinical awareness.
“He should take that assertive assumption out of the title,” Bannister said. “Even turning it into a question. It would be that simple.”
Bannister said he’s been unable to get a response from either the SUNY Upstate doctors who wrote the case study or the editors at Case Reports in Ophthalmological Medicine. (The report’s authors also did not respond to repeated requests for comment from VICE.)
Underlying all this is a lot of uncertainty, and the stark truth that CBD is widely available, poorly understood, and also poorly regulated. Under former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, the Trump Administration seemed interested in getting a stronger handle on CBD regulation. But Gottlieb stepped down last year, and with COVID-19 seizing the attention of both the agency and the public, the nature of the industry seems unlikely to change anytime soon.
It’s true that a woman did die after taking CBD oil, but that doesn’t mean that CBD killed her. CBD is safe for the vast majority of people, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe for everyone. We simply don’t know enough about how CBD interacts with other drugs.
“Drugs kill people all the time. The safety profile of CBD is pretty good, but it is a drug,” said Michael Backes, a Southern California cannabis consultant and author of Cannabis Pharmacy, one of the leading compendiums of the plant’s medical and scientific effects. “There may be a person out there who takes a particular preparation of CBD, and it could kill them. That could happen.”
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ORIGINAL REPORTING ON EVERYTHING THAT MATTERS IN YOUR INBOX.
Woman Dies After Eating Synthetic Cannabinoid Gummies She Ordered Online
A law student died after eating synthetic cannabinoid candies she had delivered to her home, police believe.
British woman Damilola Grace Olakanmi, 23, and her 21-year-old American friend both fell ill after each consuming just one of the ‘gummy’ candies at Olakanmi’s house in Ilford, London.
The pair ate the gummies at around 11:30 p.m. on April 29, and both were hospitalized, with an air ambulance flying Olakanmi to a hospital in nearby Romford, Essex.
Two women were hospitalized in London when they fell ill after eating synthetic cannabinoid candy, with one of the pair later dying. Pictured: An ambulance at an accident and emergency department at a hospital in Bradford, U.K. Getty Images
London’s Metropolitan Police said they are investigating whether the death may be linked to another case in March, which saw a woman rushed to hospital after eating a similar product in the London borough of Tower Hamlets.
Detectives are seeking to discover whether the two incidents were caused by the same batch of candy.
Olakanmi had bought the “Trrlli Peachie O” branded candy through a cellphone messaging app and they were later delivered to her home. Her American friend, a student visiting the UK, has now been discharged from the hospital.
Olakanmi’s mother Wumi Olakanmi reportedly kept a vigil by her daughter’s bedside until her death on Saturday.
One of the family’s relatives, Richard Taylor spoke to the Evening Standard and said: “Wumi has lost her only child—she has nothing now.
“They had to hold her up because she broke down every time a friend came to the house to give support.
“It’s a tragic warning to all young people about how they live their lives. They should resist drugs.
“Damilola was a promising young woman who should be looking forward to her future and having children of her own. She was studying law.”
Another relative, named only as Dunni, added Olakanmi was “very kind and loved looking after children and wanted to please everyone.”
Officers have warned against eating drug-laced candy and said a number of gummies have been recovered and are being tested.
Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell, of the Met’s East Area Basic Command Unit, said: “I must warn the public against taking any illegal substances, including those packaged in the form of cannabis candies.
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“Please do not buy or consume these products. They are illegal and, because of the child-friendly packaging, they can pose a risk of accidental consumption.
“The particular batch of [candies] were contained in packaging featuring Trrlli Peachie O’s branding. It has not been confirmed at this stage where the [candies] were manufactured.
“Drug dealers harm communities and risk the safety of individuals. We will take positive action to target those engaged in this activity as well as those found in possession of these substances.”
Police arrested a man on Friday in connection with the incident. They said he had a large quantity of cash on him and what were believed to be edible cannabis products. He was later charged with a number of suspected offenses, including possession with intent to supply Class B synthetic cannabinoid, being concerned in the supply of a synthetic cannabinoid, and possession with intent to supply a psychoactive substance.
A post-mortem examination will be arranged in order to confirm Olakanmi’s cause of death, the Met said.
Correction, 4/6/22, 8:00 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to indicate that the items consumed contained synthetic cannabinoids, and not “marijuana.”


text: Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is approaching and will begin this Thursday, September 9. To celebrate the start of another week of sizzling fashion, awesome inspiration, glittering celebrities, and fabulous parties, we've created a collage of the best photos of past fashion weeks to celebrate in anticipation of the wonderful style to come. And as always, Fashion Inc. Style Society will be keeping you posted with breaking Fashion Week news and collection showings. Enjoy!


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Event Honors TV Leaders who use their platform for Social Good. Will Be Hosted by ET’s Kevin Frazier and presented by TCL North Americad
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / PRURGENT
Advocacy Honors (AH!) announce today the 5th annual Television Industry Advocacy Awards will be held October 23rd at the legendary TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, CA. Also announced today, TCL North America will be this year’s Title Sponsor and Entertainment Tonight will be the official Entertainment News partner for the esteemed event.
ET’s Kevin Frazier will do the hosting honors this year.
The event honors leaders of the television industry who effectively use their voices for social cause. Honorees, presenters and attendees will be announced in the coming weeks. Over its short history, the Television Industry Advocacy Awards has recognized the work of 34 industry leaders including; Eva Longoria, Chrissy Metz, Keegan-Michael Key, Alfre Woodard, Anthony Anderson, Sela Ward, Tim Robbins, Alyssa Milano, Debra Messing, Patricia Heaton, Constance Zimmer, Jill Soloway, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Abigail Disney, Bill Prady, Niecy Nash and Laverne Cox, among others.
Paul Turcotte; Founder of the Television Industry Advocacy Awards explained “The Advocacy Awards acknowledge and support industry advocates who are making positive change while inspiring their millions of fans to engage in discussion and to impact change. “Entertainment Tonight is a perfect partner for us to amplify our celebrity advocates and highlight the collective advocacy work of our honorees. TCL has stepped up their commitment to our celebrity advocates by becoming the evening’s Title sponsor. Their corporate initiatives parallel our mission to impact change and we are honored to have them on board for a second year.”
“TCL applauds the Television Industry Advocacy Awards for their efforts and we are very proud to support the great service they do in recognizing TV stars who generously use their platform to highlight needs within the community,” said Chris Larson, Senior Vice President, TCL North America. “Being America’s fastest-growing TV brand takes a lot of work but we make sure to filter all our business decisions through a guiding hand called TCL Cares - a simple set of rules that benefit our users, our employees, the communities we serve and our environment. That said, it was an easy choice for us to work with this event and celebrate the honorees selflessly dedicated to helping those in need using their advantages.”
Details are as follows:
WHO: Host Kevin Frazier
WHAT: Television Industry Advocacy Awards
WHERE: TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, 6925 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028
WHEN: Wednesday, October 23rd, 2019
5:00 pm Press call
6:00 pm Red Carpet/Photo Ops/Cocktail Reception
7:30 pm Awards immediately follow
***THIS IS AN INVITATION-ONLY, TICKETED EVENT. ALL PRESS MUST BE
CREDENTIALED. PRESS REQUESTS: Julietteitgirlpr.com SPACE IS EXTREMELY LIMITED***
##### END #####
About Advocacy Honors
Advocacy Honors (AH!) producers of the Television Industry Advocacy Awards produce high level events that support and amplify influential voices that capture national attention and generate millions of impactful media impressions for important causes. For additional information, please visit: https://advocacyhonors.com/
Already one of the world's best-selling consumer electronics brands, TCL is now the fastest-growing TV brand in North America. TCL (The Creative Life) was founded more than 35 years ago and prides itself on delivering high quality products featuring stylish design and the latest technology. With extensive manufacturing expertise, a vertically integrated supply chain, and state-of-the-art panel factory, TCL offers innovative televisions, including the award-winning TCL® Roku TV™. For additional product information please visit www.tclusa.com.


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Quebec Paccar plant celebrates production of 100,000th medium-duty truck
STE-THERESE, Que. — A Kenworth T370 has been recently recognized as the 100,000th medium-duty truck produced at the Paccar Ste-Therese, Que., manufacturing plant. The plant has been in operating since its grand opening in 1999.
“The employees at the Paccar Ste-Therese are especially dedicated to building excellent medium-duty trucks. We’re especially honoured that a Kenworth T370 is the 100,000th medium-duty truck to roll off the production line over the past 12 years,” said Marilyn Santangelo, Kenworth assistant general manager for operations. “We thank all our customers who have purchased Kenworth trucks built at the Ste-Therese facility.”
The milestone vehicle is a new Kenworth 6×4 T370 tandem tractor produced for long-time customer Altec Industries.
Keith Lawrence, manager of strategic sourcing for Altec in St, Joseph, Mo., and Martin Boucher, Altec’s account manager in Montreal, were presented the keys to the new Kenworth T370 by Chakib Toubal-Seghir, plant manager for the Ste-Therese facility. Also participating in the special ceremony at the plant were Santangelo; Neil Vonnahme, Kenworth general sales manager – West; and Eddie Davis, new truck salesman of selling dealer MHC Kenworth – Kansas City, Mo.
“On behalf of all Altec associates, it’s a privilege to participate in this important milestone for Kenworth and accept this very special and historic 100,000th truck built by the Ste-Therese plant employees,” said Lawrence. “Altec is proud of the longstanding business partnership we have with Kenworth. We value the importance of that relationship and look forward to continuing to jointly meet the growing needs of our customers by providing the highest quality equipment in the market today.”
“This significant milestone is a tribute to the hard work and strong commitment to quality shown by our employees during these past 12 years,” said Toubal-Seghir. “They are to be congratulated on their daily efforts to build outstanding trucks for customers such as Altec Industries.”
The day’s celebration also included a barbecue lunch cooked by managers for the guests and employees, and a plant tour for Lawrence and Boucher.
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Photo courtesy of U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission
Disney and federal regulators are recalling about 1,200 children’s watches that were sold in theme parks and shops, including the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. (Story updated at 3:05 p.m.)
Disneyland Resort shops sold 254 of the watches, which irritated or caused burning sensations on children who are allergic to nickel, said Suzi Brown, a Disneyland Resort spokesman.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, along with the Walt Disney Co.’s parks division, announced the voluntary recall Wednesday. Consumers will be refunded $40 when the watches are returned. See a press release by the safety commission and Disney.
(The watches sold for about $30.)
“Disney is committed to the quality and safety of the consumer products it sells, particularly those that are enjoyed by children,” Brown said in a statement.
The light-up, shiny watches have Buzz Lightyear, Tinker Bell and Lightning McQueen designs.
In addition to the Disneyland Resort, the watches were sold at Walt Disney World, shops on Disney Cruise ships and stores in Orlando International Airport from November to January. The Disneyland Resort in Anaheim runs shops in its two theme parks, hotels and the Downtown Disney shopping-entertainment district.
Disney received six reports of injuries from the watches. One complaint came from the Disneyland Resort, Brown said.
The watch’s’ battery current interacts with nickel on the stainless-steel back, causing the irritation, according to the commission.
“They (Disney) are trying to make sure that they do the right thing and make sure products aren’t harmful for people,” said Carl Purvis, a commission spokesman.
Consumers with questions should call Walt Disney Parks and Resorts at 877-560-6477 or go to the company’s website, www.waltdisneyworld.com.
Recent Disneyland Resort news:


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Surface Earbuds delayed to spring 2020
Microsoft Chief Product Officer, Panos Panay, has taken to Twitter to announce that the Surface Earbuds have been delayed by a quarter and will now ship in spring 2020. Originally slated for a holiday 2019 release, the Surface Earbuds are apparently taking more time to perfect than expected. According to Panay, “Product-making is about the relentless pursuit to get all the details right, which takes time…sometimes more than we planned on.”
The Surface Earbuds are a little different to the competition in more ways than one. Obviously, the disc shaped flat control surface that protrudes from the wearer’s ears is one aspect, but another is how Microsoft is pitching these. Instead of being purely about the sound, the Surface Earbuds also integrate into the Surface product line by allowing for the control of slides in a presentation, and the ability to transcribe in real-time a speakers voice into up to 60 different languages as captions.
In fact, if anything, the delay in its launch could come down to making this aspect of the device work reliably. Currently, it requires Microsoft’s Azure cloud Cognitive Services to power the functionality, and if it is to succeed in differentiating itself from the competition like the Apple AirPods and Sony WF-1000XM3s, which focus on sound, it is important this feature works as advertised out of the box. Or, the delay could be down to the fact that @will.i.am believes Microsoft stole his design and the parties are coming to some sort of agreement.


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Because the cloud is a game-changer, it's critically important for the industry's thought leaders to offer direction about how to exploit the cloud's full potential and avoid its pitfalls
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) March 31, 2010
The GigaOM Network, a leading business media company, today announced GigaOM Structure 2010 is shaping up to be the largest and most influential cloud computing conference this year. New speakers are being announced weekly for this year’s expanded two-day event, taking place June 23–24 in San Francisco.
The confirmed keynote speakers at Structure 2010 are some of the brightest luminaries in the enterprise software industry. Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff and IBM Cloud Chief Erich Clementi will take the stage at Structure, as well as two new recently announced keynote speakers, VMware CEO Paul Maritz and CA CTO Dr. Donald Ferguson.
Based on the huge popularity of the first two sold-out Structure conferences, this year’s event has been expanded to two days. Tickets to Structure usually sell out quickly, so those who would like to attend the conference should register as soon as possible to ensure their space.
At Structure 2010, industry leaders will discuss where the cloud industry is headed, and which technologies are emerging as standards for the next decade. Attendees will also hear real-world case studies from companies that have successfully implemented cloud technologies to reduce costs, improve efficiencies and boost performance.
"Because the cloud is a game-changer, it's critically important for the industry's thought leaders to offer direction about how to exploit the cloud's full potential and avoid its pitfalls,” said CA’s Dr. Ferguson. “At Structure 2010, I'm particularly excited to engage in an open exchange about the challenges companies face adopting virtualized, cloud-centric supply chains."
Unlike other industry conferences, Structure is an interactive, open-format event where attendees actively debate the issues that matter most to them. Whether you’re an IT professional looking to learn about best practices when it comes to implementing cloud infrastructures, or a cloud entrepreneur looking for funding, Structure 2010 is a must-attend event that will connect you with the industry's most innovative thinkers. Please visit the Structure 2010 website often to get updates on panel topics.
Structure 2010 will also host its first Launchpad, a program in which 10 promising new cloud companies or products, selected for their innovative technology offerings, will present their business models on stage. Interested startup’s can apply for the Launchpad via the Structure 2010 website at http://events.gigaom.com/structure/10/structure-2010-startup-launchpad/.
Last year, over 700 attendees representing more than 600 companies, as well as journalists from dozens of top media outlets, attended Structure – and this year more than 1,000 attendees are expected at the expanded two-day event. Primetime sponsors of Structure 2010 include EMC, Salesforce.com, WordPress.com, DuPont Fabros Technology, Tilera, CDNetworks, Terremark, Peer1 Hosting, and SpiceWorks, with more sponsors joining weekly. Sponsorships are still available; visit the Structure 2010 Sponsor page for more information, or contact Mike Sly via phone at 415-235-0358.
GigaOM is the premier destination site for technology industry insiders, movers and shakers, and early adopter consumers. It is widely considered the authoritative site for discovering what’s new, relevant and interesting in the dynamic world of technology. From exclusive product launches to award-winning analysis and commentary, GigaOM’s coverage influences business and technology sectors with its reliable, well-researched and professional reporting — and its signature intelligence, candor, and irreverence.
About The GigaOM Network
The GigaOM Network is a leading provider of publications and events for the technology and entrepreneurial markets worldwide. Founded by award-winning journalist Om Malik, The GigaOM Network is an online publishing company whose network of news sites reaches more than 2 million readers worldwide and provides news and insight on the developments disrupting the world of technology. The GigaOM Network includes seven award-winning sites: GigaOM covers the business of broadband, VoIP, infrastructure, mobile and wireless; WebWorkerDaily covers the future of work in a web world; NewTeeVee covers the business of online video; Earth2Tech covers the business of green technology; OStatic is a web application, news site and community looking at open-source solutions for business; jkOnTheRun offers news and insight on mobile devices; and TheAppleBlog is a leading source of information for Apple users. The GigaOM Network also produces industry-leading events, including annual conferences: Structure, Mobilize, NewTeeVee Live and Green:Net.


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For the first time in the award's 25-year history, a pair of brothers was named winners of Modern Tire Dealer's Tire Dealer of the Year Award. Mark Rhodes and Scott Rhodes are the second-generation owners of Plaza Tire Service Inc., based in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
For the fourth consecutive year, Plaza Tire Service Inc. customers and employees made donations to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The tire dealer raised $17,856.71 at its 62 stores and its corporate office.
Plaza Tire Service Inc. turned its winning of Modern Tire Dealer's 2017 Tire Dealer of the Year Award into donations for a pair of children's charities.
Mark Rhodes and Scott Rhodes, the second generation brothers who own Plaza Tire Service Inc., are the winners of Modern Tire Dealer’s 2017 Tire Dealer of the Year Award.
Meet Mark and Scott Rhodes
At Plaza Tire Service Inc., there’s only one brand that really matters. “Whatever you do, say Plaza Tire a lot. We may not have this brand or that brand tomorrow, but there will always be Plaza Tire.”
Plaza Tire Service Inc. has opened a second outlet in Springfield, Mo. The family-owned company headquartered in Cape Girardeau, Mo., now has 62 stores.
Plaza Tire Service Inc. has opened its first store in Springfield, Mo., which brings the company to 61 stores in four states.
Plaza Tire Service Inc. has opened its 60th store. The second-generation tire dealer has opened up shop in Moberly, Mo.
Plaza Tire Service Inc. has opened a second outlet in O'Fallon, Mo., which brings the company to 59 stores in four states.
Plaza Tire Service Inc. has opened a store in Warrenton, Mo., its first in 2016.
Plaza Tire Service Inc. has opened a six-bay store in Mt. Vernon, Ill. The Mt. Vernon location is the ninth Plaza Tire Service facility in Illinois and brings the company to a total of 57 stores.
Omni United USA Inc. expanded its North American footprint with the opening of its first tire distribution center in the U.S. The Fairfield, Calif., D/C has the capacity to store more than 60,000 tires; it will be used to store the company’s flagship tire brand, Radar.


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Hyundai Motor to introduce 17 green buses, trucks by 2025
Hyundai Motor will release 17 electrified trucks and buses by 2025 in a bid to meet the growing demand for eco-friendly vehicles.
Also, the company premiered the Pavise medium-large size truck and the electrified version of its County minibus, expanding its commercial vehicle portfolio.
“Hyundai Motor will pursue its commercial vehicle strategy on two tracks,” said Lim Chung-hwan, head of Hyundai Motor Commercial Vehicle Development Center 2, during the Hyundai Truck and Bus Business Fair in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.
“For heavy-duty trucks and long-distance buses, we will apply hydrogen fuel cell technologies and use electrified midsize trucks and other commercial vehicles so they can exploit the urban electric vehicle infrastructure.”
According to Lim, the company will roll out seven electric vehicles and 10 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles by 2025, so the company’s commercial vehicle portfolio will be more eco-friendly. Of those 17 vehicles, six will be trucks and 11 will be buses.
As part of its efforts to expand its eco-friendly commercial vehicle portfolio, Hyundai Motor Commercial Vehicle Business Division Executive Vice President Lee In-cheol said the company will export 10 fuel cell electric trucks to Switzerland in December and plans to sell 1,600 hydrogen powered trucks there by 2025.
“Following Switzerland, we will expand our commercial vehicle business all across Europe,” Lee said. “At the same time, we will make efforts to successfully meet the domestic demand for eco-friendly commercial vehicles.”
As part of this initiative, the company unveiled the electrified version of its County minibus. The County models are widely used as school and local minibuses.
The County EV can travel up to 200 kilometers on a single charge and the 128-killowatt hour battery can be fully charged in 72 minutes.
Hyundai Motor said the fuel cost for the EV version is expected to be nearly a-third of that of the current diesel model.
Along with the County EV, the company unveiled the Pavise truck, saying it now has a full line up ranging from small- to heavy-duty trucks.
The company described the Pavise truck as a medium-large sized truck, placing it between the company’s midsize Mega Truck and heavy-duty Xcient.
The Pavise is able to carry between 5.5 tons and 13.5 tons, so it can transport a variety of cargo ranging from food and commodities to industrial machineries.
While unveiling the Pavise, Hyundai Motor revealed 10 variants of the truck, including fire engines, garbage trucks and cranes, saying it was designed to be easily compatible with various specialty vehicle equipment.
“The Pavise provides the practicality of the Mega Truck, and the heavy load of the Xcient at the same time,” Lee said.


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Published on : Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Pearl Beach Club, an upscale leisure and entertainment venue located in the heart of Punta Cana’s breathtaking Bavaro Beach district, today announced it received TripAdvisor’s 2017 Certificate of Excellence. The accolade, recognizing quality customer experiences and honoring hospitality excellence, is a milestone for the beach club which opened its doors November 2015.
“Our team is passionate about providing unparalleled personalized customer service and this commitment has been paramount to Pearl Beach Club’s early success,” said Elsa Ma. Ramirez Toca, Pearl Beach Club’s marketing director. “This award represents the voice of our customers and we are grateful to them for taking the time to share their wonderful experiences at Pearl. We are honored to have received this award.”
Now in its seventh year, the achievement recognizes hospitality industry businesses that received excellent traveler reviews on TripAdvisor over the past year. The winners of the Certificate of Excellence include restaurants, accommodations and attractions from around the world which continually strive to provide a quality customer experience.
“TripAdvisor is pleased to announce the winners of the 2017 Certificate of Excellence, which recognizes hotel industry businesses consistently receiving high praise and ratings from travelers,” said Heather Leisman, vice president of industry marketing at TripAdvisor. “This recognition allows us to publicly honor businesses that actively interact with customers and use feedback to help travelers identify the perfect journey and book with confidence.”
The Certificate of Excellence considers the quality, quantity, and timeliness of the opinions that TripAdvisor travelers send out over a period of 12 months. In order to obtain the certificate, a business must maintain an overall rating of at least four out of five stars on TripAdvisor and have a minimum number of opinions with an active profile on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months.


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Tesla’s stock prices jumped dramatically on Wednesday after a surprise announcement from the company. Tesla has stated it will be offering a five-for-one stock split in the near future.
In a press release Tesla said its board of directors had approved the five-for-one stock split. It will come into effect at the close of trading on August 28 in the U.S. This means shareholders will receive five shares for every single share they own. These shares will then begin trading from August 31.
Tesla, Inc. (“Tesla”) announced today that the Board of Directors has approved and declared a five-for-one split of Tesla’s common stock in the form of a stock dividend to make stock ownership more accessible to employees and investors. Each stockholder of record on August 21, 2020 will receive a dividend of four additional shares of common stock for each then-held share, to be distributed after close of trading on August 28, 2020. Trading will begin on a stock split-adjusted basis on August 31, 2020.
Tesla might be claiming accessibility as a primary reason, but this doesn’t mean the stocks are cheap.
The announcement resulted in Tesla shares jumping by 6.46 per cent during extended trading hours. The share price sat at $US1,374.39 at market close. At the time of writing, during after hours trade, it is sitting at $US1,463.23 per share.
Splitting Tesla stock was first discussed publicly on Twitter back in July. A Tesla fan from Wollongong, NSW asked Musk if he would consider a stock split so more fans could invest in the company.
The account also alluded to Musk’s infamous $420 stock price debacle from 2018. Incidentally, those tweets also sent Tesla share prices rocketing at the time.
Musk responded to the Tesla in the Gong tweet, saying it was worth bringing up at the annual shareholders meeting.
Worth discussing at annual shareholders meeting
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 1, 2020
It seems August 2020 is a popular month for tech companies getting in on the stock splitting game. At the beginning of the month Apple announced its first stock split since 2014. It will be offering shareholders a four-for-one split. Apple also cited accessibility for investors as a primary reason for the split.