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Volkswagen Emission Scandal May Lead To Industry-Wide Probe
German automaker Volkswagen has now admitted to installing software in its vehicles to cheat US pollution admission tests and has claimed that 11 million of its cars worldwide contain the software. The company announced it would set aside $7.3 billion to pay the costs of fixing the cars so they can actually pass an emissions test.
Volkswagen’s appeal to consumers relied heavily on the belief that buying the diesel powered car would reduce carbon emissions and therefore be better for the environment. Not surprisingly, the emission scandal has sent Volkswagen’s stock crashing downward over fears of heavy fines and a loss of customers.
The company may also face criminal charges for violating US pollution-control laws. Sources have reportedly told Bloomberg that the Department of Justice has already started an investigation.
The Volkswagen emission test rigging case offers DOJ yet another opportunity to follow its new policy of holding individual executives accountable for corporate crime. DOJ failed to do so with the GM ignition switch case, though it could be argued that case predated the policy change.
Volkswagen, on the other hand, is undeniably a case that would be brought after the policy change.
Volkswagen shareholders will pay a massive fine, a vice president somewhere will take early retirement, lawyers will make a fortune.
— Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) September 22, 2015
Beyond the Volkswagen case are concerns that the wider auto industry is finding ways to evade emissions rules. According to The Wall Street Journal, regulators in both the US and European Union are considering a industry-wide probe to see if cheating on emissions tests is a widespread practice.
If the practice of cheating on emission tests goes further than Volkswagen then the auto industry is doing even less to combat climate change than previously thought. Is it time for the government to get into the drivers seat and simply start mandating a switch to electric cars?


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Launching at wholesale for spring 14, British brand Milliemanu makes all garments in the UK.
Wholesale prices for the collection start at £3.99 for an accessory to £59.60 for the most expensive dress.
The brand has a collaboration with the charity Butterfly Conservation and has created a butterfly print dress featuring endangered insects. The range for boys and girls also includes shirts, shorts and dresses.
Contact: 020 8878 7863

domain: news


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Wilk, an Israeli company operating at the crossroads of Biotech and FoodTech and developing technologies for producing cultured human breast and animal milk, announced the launch of a new project to develop the first yogurt using cell-cultured milk fat. This first product will serve as proof of the viability of the company’s cell-based technology thus ensuring the retention of the inherent nutritional benefits only found in real milk fats, including the full complement of essential macro and micronutrients.
"It has long been established that milk fat is integral to supporting human health and nutrition, aiding the absorption of key nutrients, such as vitamins D and E and calcium, into the blood while providing a rich source of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties," said Tomer Aizen, CEO of Wilk. "These core properties cannot be replicated through alternative technologies, making Wilk the first company in the world to develop a dairy product containing genuine, cell-cultured milk fat. We will continue investing our efforts and resources to develop cell-cultured milk and breast milk components that will help our partners produce healthier products in a more sustainable manner."
The project is expected to last approximately six months, culminating in the incorporation of cell-cultured animal milk fat into the product. Concurrently, Wilk is working to increase the production capacity of cell-cultured fat in its facilities and establish optimal fat separation methods for use in foods.
In tandem with its advances in developing cell-cultured animal milk fats for dairy products, Wilk is working to accelerate the production of cultured human milk components that will be integrated into infant formula to develop products that are optimized for infants' growth and development.


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Back in July, we reported that the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E production was scheduled to begin at the Ford Cuautitlan Plant in Mexico on October 26th, 2020. Now, Ford Authority has confirmed with its sources that Mustang Mach-E production did in fact start on Monday, as originally planned. Additionally, we reached out for comment on the Mach-E’s expexted delivery dates as well.
The Mach-E is “on schedule to start customer deliveries in late 2020,” Emma Berg, Ford Global EV Communications Manager, told Ford Authority in a statement. This aligns with our report from May, when we first learned that Ford’s first-ever all-electric crossover was on track to be delivered to U.S. customers in late 2020, followed by European customers in early 2021.
The ultimate early version of the Mach-E, the First Edition, should begin arriving at dealerships in late December. The First Edition comes loaded with the Extended Range battery, all-wheel-drive, red brake calipers, and First Edition badges. The initial run of First Edition Mach-Es sold out rather quickly, but Ford later made more units available through a variety of outlets.
Ford’s first-ever all-electric SUV will be packing a ton of cool tech when it launches later this year, including over-the-air update capability, serious winter driving chops, quick-charging capability, a unique door latch system, and the ability to accurately predict range based on real-time data. Plus, buyers will also receive up to five free charges at Electrify America charging stations.
In addition to cutting the prices of every Mach-E trim save for the GT, Ford has also added a bit more power to the lineup than originally expected, and final EPA numbers are expected to be higher than initially stated as well.


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Microsoft Research deemed that Oculus lenses were not good enough for users to fully enjoy the Rift. That's why MSR designed new ones and shared the 3D-printable plans online for users and fans.
...of Windows 10 Mobile, Samsung's latest slip-up and Clippy's machismo
Hands on with Verizon's Lumia 735
Discover all of our Windows 10 PC and Mobile coverage here!
Review: Ulefone Be Touch
Polling app Straw goes global with 2.0 release (and we chat about it with @BenThePCGuy)
Microsoft: Windows Insider program is not a free upgrade path for XP users to Windows 10
Microsoft's Project Premonition is a 5-year-long research endeavor with the stated goal of stopping the spread of disease, by employing modern technologies for early detection and analysis.
Irides is Microsoft's technology that can improve virtual reality displays, like the Oculus Rift, and deliver higher-end graphics alongside low latency for a better user experience.
The company's research arm has been developing technologies and techniques to create new electronic materials that are foldable and safe; this could be the future of wearable devices.
A research project from Microsoft has shown how a specialized lamp could be used to seamlessly charge the smartphones of the future. The lamp uses infrared light and small cameras to identify devices.
Microsoft has announced it is letting researchers use the massive computing power of its Azure cloud to help research projects aimed at fighting Ebola, an infectious diseases that's spreading fast.
Microsoft Research has released Xim - an app that lets you share photos with anyone, but the twist here is that they don't need to use the app to see the photos, and you can control their experience.
Microsoft's Research division is all about solving some of the toughest challenges and one area they are targeting is low-latency cloud based gaming and they have a solution kicking out good results.
Microsoft's research team has created a new video technology that can create a 'hyperlapse' which is a lot like a timelapse but on steroids and will usher in a new style of video.
Scientists have been rapidly expanding their understanding of stem cell behaviour since they began to use Microsoft software, originally designed to eliminate bugs in Windows, in their research.
Microsoft Research has launched Code Hunt, a new web browser game that's designed to not only entertain but to help teach people about the world of computer programming.
Microsoft Research has released a new app for Windows Phone called Time Of My Life, designed to keep track of where a person goes every day and how much time they spend at each location.
A new report says Microsoft Research has formed a Special Projects Group that will take work on "disruptive next-generation technologies" as part of its mission.
Microsoft used Earth Day today to officially reveal FetchClimate, a new online tool from Microsoft Research that allows anyone to find enviromental data instantly via Bing Maps.
Microsoft Research is showing off a new project called Holograph that was made to render sizeable amounts of data in 3D from above or below the plane of a large touchscreen display.
Microsoft Research has posted a new video that shows off SurroundWeb, a way to post web-based information on room walls and tables in a varient of their previous IllumiRoom concept.
The Microsoft Research website posted, and then later pulled, information about a new project that centered on adding interactive live tiles to Windows 8, along with videos showing them in action.
Microsoft Research has announced HereHere NYC, an effort to give New York City residents a way to view community concerns on a map based on data collected by the 311 non-emergency stream.
Microsoft has announced the release of the Bing Code Search extension for Visual Studio, which will allow programmers to search for code from web nside the company's development tool.
Microsoft Research's Fuse Labs has released NewsPad, a blogging tool for people who wish to collaborate on writing news posts in real time, as an open source project.
Microsoft has created a new 20 gigapixel photo panorama of Seattle that used the company's Photosynth and Image Composite Editor software to merge nearly 2,400 separate photos.
Google's announcement of a smart contact lens device has its roots in an earlier project from the University of Washington in Seattle, which got support from Microsoft Research.
Microsoft Research employee David Rothschild is giving his predictions on what will happen in 2014 in events like the Super Bowl and World Cup and even takes shot at the 2016 U.S. Presidential race.
Microsoft has now said that it won't be developing a "smart bra", even though team members from Microsoft Research collaborated with others on a prototype for such a device.
Microsoft has now launched iOS, Android and Windows Phone apps for its Socl network, adding new ways for people who use the service from Microsoft Research to communicate.
Microsoft has launched Office Remote, a new Windows Phone 8 app that lets users turn a smartphone into a remote for interacting with Office 2013 or Office 365 documents on a PC.
Microsoft has announced that Eric Rudder, the current head of the company's Advanced Strategy and Research group, will take on the newly created position of Executive Vice President, Advanced Strategy
Microsoft has announced its plans for Windows Azure for Research, a collaboration between Microsoft Research and Windows Azure designed to bring cloud computing to scientists and researchers.
Microsoft Xbox exec Albert Penello said that the IllumiRoom gaming projector demo from Microsoft Research won't be included with the Xbox One anytime soon, thanks mostly to its expensive price tag.
The FUSE Labs section of Microsoft Research has launched a beta version of a Twitter aggregator called Whooly, designed to let users know of activities in their local neighborhoods.
Microsoft Research has published a paper this week that introduces Secure Peer-to-Peer Acoustic NFC, which could let mobile devices transfer files via sound from a speaker to a microphone.
James Larus, the leader of Microsoft's now shut down Singularity OS project, has left the company after 16 years to become the new dean of computer science at Ecole Polytechnique Federale De Lausanne.
A new paper that was co-created by a team at Microsoft Research describes a new way of creating short videos that can be placed in an infinite loop for sharing with others.
Microsoft Research is working on a project called InfraStructs, which involves putting in embedded coded tags inside 3D printed objects that can be used for many applications.
A Microsoft Research team is working with an application that, when tied into a Kinect for Windows hardware unit, can automatically translate sign language, even from a language other than English.
Microsoft Research has released the first version of its Lab of Things SDK, which has been made to help extend research into Microsoft's HomeOS technology connection plans.
As part of his Microsoft Research Faculty Summit keynote today, chairman Bill Gates downplayed the use of wearable PCs in education and even jokingly discussed a future version of Microsoft Bob.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates will deliver the keynote speech at the annual Microsoft Research Faculty Summit, to be held in Redmond, Washington on July 15th. The keynote will be live streamed.
Microsoft Research has released a Windows 8 version of its Network Speed Test app that was previously released for Windows Phone 8, allowing users to test their upload and download speeds.
A team at Microsoft Research is working on a new project that could bring haptic tactile feedback features to some future versions of large 3D touchscreen monitors.
Microsoft Research has released a new app for Windows 8 and RT that offers users direct access to a number of video lectures featuring a number of well known researchers, academics, and scientists.
Microsoft Research's Socl network has added some new features for its users, including a quick way to create animated images and quick meme photos with the new Picotales feature.
A new study from Microsoft Research looks at what kinds of display ads are considered annoying by web surfers and how much those ads can cost website operators if people stop going to those pages.
Microsoft has announced that, in its latest tie-in to the movie Star Trek Into Darkness, it has added an Easter Egg in its Bing.com website if you type a secret phrase in the search bar.
Microsoft has revealed that the producers of the mega-successful summer movie Iron Man 3 came to the company's Microsoft Research division to ask for advice about interactive technology.
A team at the Microsoft Research Cambridge office has created a prototype of a new kind of word ID badge that is connected to a belt loop and has an LCD screen to deliver electronic content.
Microsoft is currently hiring for team members to work on a telepresence project that involves making a "realistic physical 'body-double' or proxy in a remote meeting."
Rick Rashid, Microsoft's chief research officer, has given an interview with The Verge where he states that a Microsoft smartwatch is a "possibility," but the market may not be there.
Today is Earth Day 2013 and Microsoft is using that day to talk about its own environmental efforts, including projects that are designed to use renewable energy for its operations.
Microsoft has launched the first public preview of its GeoFlow project made for Excel 2013, offering users a way to view Excel spreadsheet data as 3D visuals on software such as Bing Maps.


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Get buying and selling suggestions and browse opinions on Hacked.com for best $ 39 per 30 days
South Korea will impose its ban on nameless financial institution accounts utilized in cryptocurrency transactions in a single week. In parallel, six nationwide banks will factor new buying and selling accounts in step with KYC requirements.
In keeping with a number of studies on Tuesday, South Korean regulators have banned the change of nameless cryptocurrency via nameless digital financial institution accounts within the nation. Strictly talking, the long-overdue motion won’t permit investors to make deposits of their portfolios to home cryptocurrency exchanges except their names on their deposit financial institution accounts fit the identify of the account all over buying and selling exchanges. cryptomonnaie.
In the meantime, a minimum of six South Korean banks will factor new accounts for cryptocurrency transactions on Jan. 30. As banks deploy those new accounts with a device that fits the names between financial institution accounts and cryptographic accounts, present nameless digital accounts The similar day, the Vice President of the Monetary Services and products Fee (FSC), Kim Yong-beom , instructed the clicking that he used to be forbidden to paintings.
The six banks will come with NH Financial institution, the Commercial Financial institution of Korea and, as up to now discussed, Shinhan Financial institution – Korea’s 2d greatest monetary establishment.
The applying of the true identify buying and selling device will even require cryptocurrency buying and selling to percentage customers’ transaction knowledge with banks. This transfer could be part of the federal government’s ongoing evaluate in “speculative investments” by way of a lot of the Korean society in cryptocurrency.
Whilst the Korean Justice Ministry has known as for a complete ban on industry and exchanges of cryptocurrency, different lawmakers and regulators have rejected the intransigent manner. The presidential place of work of South Korea insisted at the topic, stressing radical ban used to be one of the crucial measures envisaged to keep watch over the cryptocurrency sector.
The announcement made as of late by way of the South Korean govt suggests a coverage that can almost certainly no longer come with this basic ban, which is able to now practice best to non-nationals. Korean and nameless industry.
“Nobody, together with the federal government, promises the worth of crypto-currencies,” mentioned Kim Yong-beom of the FSC as of late, calling on traders to warn traders of investments quite than d & # 39; warn of a ban. “Given its extremely risky nature, watch out when making funding selections.”
The scoop will come as a aid to the adopters and the cryptocurrency exchanges. In keeping with Yonhap, the Korean giant change Bithumb welcomes the brand new coverage of the federal government, with a commentary that reads:
“We can make efforts to construct a extra clear and wholesome transaction device with the true identify buying and selling platform.”
Symbol from Shutterstock.
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Enterprising teen thugs have used a feature in the virally-popular Pokemon Go mobile game to lure and rob gamers.
The mobile app, released last week, uses augmented reality to overlay Pokemon around the real world, requiring players to walk around to collect the famed characters.
Police at the US State of Missouri's O’Fallon Police Department issued a statement warning that four individuals were arrested in a Black BMW with a handgun after they were reported lurking at locations where Pokemon were likely to appear.
"Using the geolocation feature of the Pokemon Go app the robbers were able to anticipate the location and level of seclusion of unwitting victims," Sergeant Bill Stringer says in the statement [PDF].
"Further investigation revealed that there have been similar armed robberies in St. Louis City, County, and St. Charles County MO over the last couple of days with a similar vehicle being described by other victims."
The robbers may have dropped so called Lure Modules which can be dropped at a location to increase the likelihood that Pokemon will appear for 30 minutes at a fixed location.
Lure Modules can also be used for less nefarious purposes.
At least business has been lucky enough to be located on one of the fixed locations or so-called Pokestops and reportedly dropped the modules to attract gamers to the store.
Gamers clever enough to steer clear of dodgy Pokemon alleyways will need to avoid Pokemon Go malware that has been spotted targeting Android devices.
Meanwhile Niantic Labs has placed an ad seeking a server infrastructure software engineer who would work on the hardware powering the Pokemon Go game.
The ad comes amid server troubles which arose as users flooded to the game released on the 20 year anniversary of the Pokemon cartoon. ®


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- LG ELECTRONICS HONORED WITH 10 CES 2015 INNOVATION AWARDS
- Nov 12, 2014 08:54 Asia/Seoul Time Zone
- The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) recognized LG Electronics (LG)’ excellence in design and technology with 10 prestigious 2015 International CES Innovation Awards. LG home entertainment, home appliances and mobile devices are being honored w...
- KIZON, LG’S ECO-FRIENDLY WEARABLE DESIGNED FOR CHILDREN, HEADED OVERSEAS
- Nov 10, 2014 11:07 Asia/Seoul Time Zone
- KizON, a wearable device designed for children from LG Electronics (LG), has been certified for meeting specific environmental guidelines by TUV Rheinland and Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) Environment, two of the world’s leading certification o...
- GOOGLE AND LG ENTER INTO GLOBAL PATENT LICENSE AGREEMENT
- Nov 05, 2014 09:13 Asia/Seoul Time Zone
- LG Electronics Inc. (LG) and Google Inc. have entered into a long-term patent cross-licensing agreement covering a broad range of products and technologies. The agreement covers the two companies’ existing patents as well as those filed over the next...
- WEBGATE, New release of 8 / 16ch Penta-brid HD DVR
- Oct 30, 2014 13:23 Asia/Seoul Time Zone
- Daemyung Enterprise WEBGATE division (www.webgateinc.com) released two Penta-brid HD DVR models supporting diverse video input formats including analog and digital.
8ch DVR, HSC801F-D and 16ch DVR, HSC1601F-D can support digital HD-SDI cameras of ...
- Samsung Electronics Announces Third Quarter Results
- Oct 30, 2014 09:04 Asia/Seoul Time Zone
- Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2014. Samsung’s revenue for the quarter was KRW 47.45 trillion, a 9 percent decrease quarter-on-quarter (QOQ), while the operating profit for th...
- RECORD SMARTPHONE SHIPMENTS BOOSTS LG ELECTRONICS QUARTERLY EARNINGS
- Oct 29, 2014 13:59 Asia/Seoul Time Zone
- LG Electronics (LG) announced unaudited third quarter consolidated revenues of KRW 14.92 trillion (USD 14.54 billion), an increase of 7.4 percent year-over-year, and operating profit of KRW 461.3 billion (USD 449.61 million), more than double the fig...
- INTRODUCING LG’S DIGITAL CINEMA 4K MONITOR, THE ULTIMATE DISPLAY SOLUTION
- Oct 29, 2014 11:36 Asia/Seoul Time Zone
- LG Electronics (LG) today unveiled its new 4K Monitor (model 31MU97) for global rollout starting this week. The cutting-edge LG 31MU97 mates Digital Cinema 4K (4096 x 2160) resolution with a 31-inch IPS monitor to create an ultra-sharp high-end monit...
- Samsung Starts Mass Production of Industry's First 20nm 8Gb DDR4
- Oct 21, 2014 11:28 Asia/Seoul Time Zone
- Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in memory technology, today announced that it is mass producing the industry’s most advanced 8-gigabit (Gb) DDR4 memory and 32-gigabyte (GB) module, both of which will be manufactured based on a new 20-...
- LG UNVEILS LATEST ECO-FRIENDLY HVAC SOLUTIONS AT CHILLVENTA 2014
- Oct 14, 2014 16:03 Asia/Seoul Time Zone
- LG Electronics (LG) will give visitors to Chillventa 2014 their first look the company’s latest residential and commercial HVAC products as well as its renewable energy solutions. A biennial event taking place from October 14?16 at the Exhibition Cen...
- Samsung Electronics Announces Earnings Guidance for Q3 2014
- Oct 07, 2014 09:10 Asia/Seoul Time Zone
- Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced its earnings guidance for the third quarter of 2014.
Consolidated sales: Approximately 47.0 trillion Korean won
(Range: 46.0 - 48.0 trillion Korean won)
Consolidated operating profit: Approximatel...
- WEBGATE released a Penta-brid HD DVR
- Sep 26, 2014 14:11 Asia/Seoul Time Zone
- Daemyung Enterprise WEBGATE division (www.webgateinc.com) released a Penta-brid HD DVR supporting diverse video input formats including analog and digital.
The 16ch Penta-brid DVR, HS1600F-D can support digital HD-SDI cameras of HD1080p and HD720p...
- Samsung 27-inch S27D590C Curved Monitor Redefines the Viewing Experience
- Sep 18, 2014 08:17 Asia/Seoul Time Zone
- Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., today introduced the 27-inch S27D590C Full HD Curved Monitor designed to enhance visually compelling entertainment content. The advanced display creates a more immersive viewing experience through its curved design and ...
- Samsung Heralds a New Era of Photography with the Samsung NX1
- Sep 16, 2014 08:41 Asia/Seoul Time Zone
- Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, announced today the launch of the NX1, the remarkably fast and accurate interchangeable lens camera. Samsung has created a camera designed to be the go-to choice for expert photographers, investing in best-in-class techn...


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Basic Vendor Profiles; Farmers Markets
Here at Foodtree, we’ve been doing a lot of thinking about local food markets.
The primary spot that most eaters encounter the people actually producing their food is at the local farmers market. In recent years, farmers markets have become increasingly popular, with more than 5,200 in the US at last count. In Canada, estimated sales in 2009 topped a billion dollars. That’s billion with a “B”!
Just last week Tara Mc-Donald, executive director of the Vancouver Farmers Markets, had this to say:
“We can’t create farmers markets fast enough, there are waiting lists of farmers who want to get in, but we don’t have enough space at any of our markets to put them all,” said Tara Mc-Donald, executive director of Vancouver Farmers Markets, which runs the city’s four established markets. “We are seeing upwards of 12,000 people a week.” [link]
That’s a sentiment popping up everywhere, and yet meaningful connections with the proprietors at these markets is pretty tough to pull off once you’ve left the market. Just look at the Vancouver Farmer’s Market online directory…not a single street address is listed and there’s room for a phone number or a website, but not both.
With just minutes of research, we know that many of our local vendors have street addresses, phone numbers, and websites, and in many cases they even have facebook pages and twitter accounts. Every one of those details is a way for eaters and producers to share feedback, answer questions, and remain loyal to one another.
All over North America, the same problem exists. The most basic directory information for our very best food producers is very difficult to find, and even harder to use for things like shopping lists, recipes, or sharing within a community.
So we’re starting at home, and we’re going to solve this problem.
This is why we set up an open collection spreadsheet for the Vancouver farmers markets, and sent along this tweet last week:
If you’re in the Vancouver area, feel free to pitch in. Lots of what we’re looking for will turn up in Google, via vendor web pages and larger food directories. Some of it isn’t available or doesn’t exist, and that’s fine too. Entering “N/A” into a spot on the spreadsheet is perfectly acceptable.
Are you a food producer serving the Vancouver markets? Make sure your information is accurate!
Here’s the thing; we’ll happily do this ourselves. We think a decent list of the local farmers market vendors is something a community should have.
Making the collection effort public seemed to be a fun way to bring everyone together on this, and to allow those of you who were just at the market to give a little back to the vendors who smiled and shook your hand.
If you’re in another city, we’re planning our next few projects, so let us know where you are and we’ll try to include you!


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The 2018 MET Gala is inspired by the Catholic church with the theme being; “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination”.
In the run up to the event, some were worried about how such a sensitive topic would translate to the red carpet and finally the night us upon us.
Check out all the ‘Heavenly’ photos from the most grand ball in fashion.
Understanding the controversial theme
According to Vogue, the exhibition which kicked off in May, was “designed to create a dialogue between fashion and the masterworks of religious art in the museum’s holdings” inspired by Catholic iconography and vestments.
Anna Wintour, however, expressed beforehand that everything had been handled in the most sensitive way and this year, fashion and Catholicism converged with help from the Vatican as the grand exhibition begun.
Displaying at the MET Museum in New York were a mix of religious inspired pieces from designers including John Galliano, Dolce & Gabanna, Jeremy Scott, Coco Chanel and ecclesiastical pieces- never before seen outside the Vatican.
The Met Gala 2018
The steps of the MET are alight once more as the 2018 grand ball has begun. This year, Anna Wintour will play host with stars Rihanna, Donatella Versace and Amal Clooney supporting.
Though this year’s theme was met with apprehension, it appears the stars interpreting it in the most interesting of ways and already we have seen some pretty stunning works of haute couture.
Check it out!


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AT&T's DirecTV must face a lawsuit alleging the company violated a consumer protection law by making robocalls to a consumer's cell phone, a federal appellate court ruled Wednesday.
In a 2-1 decision upholding a trial judge's order, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected AT&T's argument that the case belonged in arbitration.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit brought by Jeremy Revitch, who alleged in a 2018 class-action complaint that DirecTV violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by using an autodialer to make unsolicited marketing calls to his mobile phone.
The telecom contended that Revitch couldn't proceed in court because he was an AT&T subscriber, and AT&T's terms of service require arbitration of disputes involving itself as well as any affiliates.
But a divided panel of the 9th Circuit ruled that the suit wasn't covered by AT&T's arbitration requirement, because Revitch agreed to AT&Ts terms of service in 2011 -- four years before AT&T acquired DirecTV.
“Because it was not and is not now a party to the wireless services agreement between Revitch and AT&T Mobility, DirecTV may not invoke the agreement to compel arbitration,” Circuit Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain wrote in an opinion joined by Circuit Judge Margaret McKeown.
Circuit Judge Mark J. Bennett dissented, writing that DirecTV should be able to require arbitration because it is currently an AT&T affiliate.
A company spokesperson says it's reviewing the decision and "considering next steps."
“We comply with the law, including the TCPA, and we strongly dispute the underlying claims in the suit,” the spokesperson added.


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The car business is tuning into a mutual admiration society. Volkswagen wants to be like Toyota, Toyota wants to learn from Nissan. Now, GM wants to learn from Volkswagen. GM’s Vice Chairman Stephen Girsky says that the new benchmark for GM is Volkswagen.
“We are envious of their profit margins. If we get as good as they are, then everything will be alright.”
This is what Girsky told Germany’s Handelsblatt in New York. GM has to make do with an operative margin of between five and six percent. Volkswagen can do eight to nine. GM, the company that had to euthanize brands to survive, looks admiringly at Volkswagen which is successful in “managing multiple brands while controlling costs through common parts.”
The mutual admiration society is accepting new members. Anybody ready to admire GM?


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16 December 2019
2019 has been another year of positive growth for Goplasticpallets.com. A major highlight was launching its Responsibility policy and recycling scheme. It is the first company in its sector to commit to recovering and recycling each and every plastic pallet and box it supplies to customers.
The company was also awarded the title of Plastic Free Champion by its local chamber of commerce for its commitment to the environment.
The internal sales team has grown by three and Esther Bussell was appointed as key account sales manager in October, bringing with her 13 years’ experience in the pallet industry and increasing the headcount to 29.
In September, Goplasticpallets.com had a big presence at the UK’s largest intralogistics show IMHX, where the team launched its online platform for signing up to the company’s recycling scheme. The company also exhibited at Fruit Focus for the third time and made its debut at Viti-Culture, the event for the UK viticulture industry.
At the beginning of the year Goplasticpallets.com unveiled a new, improved version of its multi-trip pallet box – the Trip Box Ultimate, promising to deliver superior strength, better security and enhanced performance for large volume goods handling and distribution.


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Lenovo is one of many companies that uses a custom-built user interface, but those days are apparently behind the company.
In a recent interview with Gadgets 360, Lenovo’s head of smartphone marketing in India, Anuj Sharma, said that the company will be moving away from its Vibe Pure UI skin and will adopt stock Android for all of its future smartphones. The transition begins with the K8 Note.
According to Sharma, the reason why Lenovo has made the decision to switch to stock Android is due in part because its customers have been requesting the switch for quite some time. They apparently prefer the stock experience over Lenovo’s custom option.
On top of that, Sharma says that switching to stock Android will make it easier for the company to update its smartphones. That includes an update to Android O, which Lenovo plans to roll out for some of its smartphones soon after Google launches the next big update later this year.
Of course, it’s also worth noting that Lenovo owns Motorola, and Motorola has been a proponent for using stock Android for quite some time now. So this will bring Lenovo’s smartphone lineup right in line with Motorola’s. One wonders how long it will be before we start seeing Lenovo Mods out there, too.
Do you approve of Lenovo’s decision to switch to stock Android?


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Facebook is testing the removal of the location field that advertisers use to create Lookealike audiences – Facebook’s tool for reaching new audiences based on how they compare to existing customers. In the test, Lookalike audiences use locations from ad sets – eliminating one extra step in the targeting setup process.
The update, which appears to still be either in beta or rolling out, was spotted by Duane Brown, who heads digital agency Take Some Risk, this week.
What to know about the update. When creating new lookalike lists, advertisers will see a notification stating that lookalike audiences now use the locations from your ad sets. Facebook will make copies of existing lookalikes with the locations removed to use in future campaigns. Active campaigns with previously created lookalike audiences will continue to run as normal.
Why we should care. For brands that target audiences across multiple geographic locations, inputting locations to build a lookalike audience can be a time-consuming and duplicative effort. Pulling location data from ad sets can help advertisers speed up the Lookalike setup process and reduce the potential of missing a key target location.