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Transcript for Holiday Food Heists
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving a day to feast but it's also the start. Of the multi billion dollar holiday shopping season Black Friday is now changed that a black Thursday and it also marks the beginning. Of a lesser known more sinister holiday tradition. Turns out there with a huge flood of shoppers who come to buying. Comes a huge flood of shoppers with other plans and it may end up costing you. Here's ABC's John Donvan. It's that warm and Fuzzy time of year again. That open up your wallet time of year again from now until Christmas on the front lines of the American consumer marketplace. But it is also time -- you know for a lot more of this the theft that goes on spring. Summer and fall at a cost to the retail industry of 35. Billion dollars last year. And did you know it really starts -- now in the holiday season. And in the supermarket industry where the story is really only make a few cents on any one item and it places like the big -- in Wilbraham Massachusetts they put pictures like this on the. -- these are some of the more notorious folks that we caught stealing some of them are. This -- -- a -- flam artists. The loss to thieves nationally for supermarkets -- to almost six billion a year. And that cost has to be made up somehow. You know we are profitable. We have to charge more for what we're selling. But get ready for -- more surprising number of all of the -- that occurs in supermarkets nearly 40% of it is done by insiders employees. And it takes place in one place the check out. Watch how this works and overhead view of the cashier. Items traveling past the bar code scanner see that red target that is a Turkey. And what's happening right now is that the cashier is subtly jumping around the scanner so it's not actually being rung up as a charge. Although it is mixed in with other items that are now with the turkeys -- is really see a spike as many as four times more turkeys I stood in November and December than in the rest of the year combined. I thought maybe I'd give it a try -- what are you betting. -- -- All right so what happens and so then I was on camera taking the role of cash here. To see if I could beat the system and here's what I did I legitimately scanned most of the random stuff and picked up. But I jumped the staffing over the scanner. And the napkins. And of course the Turkey. But who was actually watching this video and analyzing it who was responsible for detecting. A Turkey -- here you see he's hanging on to stuff and and target and the customers his grandmother exactly that this is my lake -- The cheating cashier's worst enemy it -- -- -- -- that red target means he -- exactly. -- he -- -- -- lift the company that invented the software now in use of hundreds of stores. And it's what's putting those targets on the turkeys in the other items that. Their analysis shows with skipped over or around the scanner in a process known as sweet Harding. Well what's called sweetheart because it's on the cashier -- my friends family members fellow employee. He might sweetheart. I can give -- things for free. -- -- -- in typical profile. Of the -- the dishonest sweet Carter cash here there's the one that. Start from the very first week that they start on the job they're already sweetheart and part that's why they took that. And then there's also the great employees been with us for ten years -- -- which -- upon time and you come discover that part of the reason for that is because she's been skimming off the top for years. Of course in a world where we are being watched more and more there are cameras everywhere. This just means were being watched even more now as ingenious as this is. Contributing to the Big Brother -- -- nation of our culture well you know the cameras had been there. So we're not adding cameras I think what we're doing is helping with unemployment and keeping businesses afloat. And the cameras aren't just catching Turkey's it's -- so many things caught with the help these cameras and his software. Which -- seeing an 80% increase in -- around the holidays. Billions in stolen and sweet hearted boots there's a Turkey it's coming out. Stuffing ingredients. -- greater freedom when she has bought -- -- exactly got scanned yet yet inherits got -- but this target says she's still in the Turkey. She may have she may have seen -- the -- -- on this part of it -- and covered up from them just face the -- of the other way. So for somebody who sang happy Thanksgiving -- when you see that Turkey being stolen. They have to sell fifty more turkeys to make up for the one that was given -- for for. I -- more read about what happens to the people who get caught. And while she was reluctant to discuss the actual incidence of insider theft in her establishment. She said everybody is told when they start here. That yes they are on camera when we hire folks -- following -- -- -- -- stores but what happened when they watched me I wondered. The system analyze my moves from up above and when I get those three red targets well let's see. One. -- Three busted. Happy Thanksgiving not I think if I'd really thought I could get away with this I'm John Donvan for Nightline in Massachusetts.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.


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Money-losing cloud-based services provider files for New York IPO that could value it at up to $1 billion
- Manycore has emerged as the clear leader in China’s computer-assisted interior design market, comparable to U.S. giant Autodesk
- The company’s IPO could face headwinds following a recent series of setbacks for Chinese firms listing in New York
By Eric Auchard
Manycore Tech Inc., the unfamiliar Nasdaq IPO candidate behind the better-known Kujiale software, makes a reasonably good argument for calling itself China’s emerging leader in architectural and interior design software.
After moving past the high-tech buzzwords and grand mission statements, its IPO prospectus filed last Friday reveals the company’s ambition to become the dominant cloud-based software player in China’s interior design technology market. But given rapidly cooling sentiment for Chinese IPOs in New York, it’s an open question if investors will embrace its emerging technology story.
The cooling sentiment has been front-and-center in the last week, including weak listings for online grocery leaders Dingdong Maicai and Missfresh, as well as the pulling of IPOs by socializing site Soulgate and shared bike specialist Hello Inc. Most of those are growing fast but also losing big money. Manycore certainly fits that pattern.
The company is China’s largest interior design, decoration and construction software provider, with 10.3% market share in 2020 by gross billings, according to third-party data in its prospectus. It has set an initial fundraising target of $100 million, though that figure will almost certainly change based on investor appetite for its story.
Manycore argues that its core market, defined as interior design, decoration and construction (DDC) services, is poised for explosive growth, as millions of Chinese seek out designs and floorplans that can be easily visualized and interacted with during the design process. That demand is even more poignant in China than many other countries, as home ownership is considered nearly essential for most young people, especially young couples just starting out.
In an open letter to investors, Manycore co-founder and Chairman Huang Xiaohuang describes his company as offering a new generation of design tools “where everyone, with or without professional training, can visualize and actualize their ideas without barrier.”
Manycore has been through several name changes in its decade of existence. Founded in 2011 as Hangzhou QunHe Information Technology Co. Ltd., the company launched its core Kujiale product two years later, allowing users to create 3D renderings of home interior layouts.
Its product is cloud-based, giving users access to massive computing power needed to operate such complex software. Kujiale boasts it can render ultra-high-resolution architectural designs back to users in 10 seconds that would take far longer using the slower processing power on most local desktop computers.
Among cloud-based providers of home decorator tools, Manycore boasts more than half of the Chinese market, or around 56.5%, according to the prospectus.
The company bills Kujiale as a virtual one-shop for interior decorators. It automatically generates engineering drawings, orders product materials and produces furniture orders directly from its software. It also links into systems used by sales, marketing and other actors in the supply chain.
Comparables in Autodesk, Kingsoft
To understand Manycore, it’s useful to look at comparables in the software universe.
Founded in 1982, U.S. stalwart Autodesk is perhaps Manycore’s global alter ego. The Silicon Valley-based company pioneered architectural design software and is the undisputed international leader in the field of computer aided design (CAD). It went public in 1985, right around the time Manycore’s three co-founders were born.
Autodesk now trades near all-time highs set at the start of 2021, as the institutional investor favorite shifts from providing its software over specialty workstations to the cloud. The stock carries a trailing price-to-earnings (PE) ratio around 50 and a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio near 17.
Kingsoft, one of China’s oldest software makers founded in 1988, is a major domestic comparable, providing cloud-based products including a Chinese rival to Microsoft Office, as well as security software and video games. The company listed in Hong Kong in 2007. And more relevant to Manycore, it listed its Kingsoft Cloud unit in 2020 on the Nasdaq.
The U.S.-listed Kingsoft Cloud has reported net losses every year since 2017, and carries a P/S ratio of around 7.7 based on about $1 billion in 2020 sales and a market capitalization of $7.7 billion. Autodesk has a substantial higher P/S of 17.2, based on $3.79 billion in 2020 sales and a market value of $65.5 billion
Last year, Manycore posted revenues of 353.4 million yuan, up 25% from 282.3 million yuan in 2019. If we compare Manycore to Autodesk on a P/S basis, the Chinese company could be valued at up to 6 billion yuan, or about $900 million. A more Kingsoft-style ratio would value Maycore more modestly at about $400 million. The final figure is likely to be somewhere between those two.
Like Kingsoft Cloud, Manycore has a history of losses, which have been rising in recent years as the company steps up spending on sales and marketing and takes its product outside China. It posted a net loss of 296.6 million yuan ($45.5 million) in 2020, up 14% from 2019. Its losses accelerated to 117 million yuan in this year’s first quarter, double the level in the year-ago quarter.
Manycore operates a pure-play software as a service (SaaS) business model with a largely free basic product to entice everyone from new homeowners to professional designers.
It generates more than 90% of its revenue from recurring corporate clients. Only a small fraction comes from 240,000 short-term individual subscribers, mostly professional home decorators, designers or architects. It had 20,806 corporate customers as of March, up 69% over the last year.
Manycore’s big promise lies in its long-term potential to become a leading cloud-based services provider as the market shifts from software based on local computers to the cloud.
Across China, cloud-based delivery is fast replacing on-site software and is set to represent 80.3% of the overall software market by 2025 from 29.8% in 2020, according to the third-party research in Manycore’s prospectus. Over that timeframe cloud-based services are expected to overtake on-premise software as the main tools for interior design and decoration, the research predicts.
“Interior design is only the beginning,” said Huang, calling it a “first step.” “We believe our cloud-based CAD platform can be applied in business scenarios across diverse end markets, expanding from residential design into more verticals such as commercial and industrial space design and decoration, architecture and infrastructure.”
In that direction, the company aims to selectively pursue strategic investments and acquisitions. Last year it acquired a company called Modelo to expand its Digital Asset Management (DAM) capabilities. And earlier this year it bought Meijian, a maker of two-dimensional design software used in digital architectural floorplans.
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Simon Mackenzie, a protection officer at the discount retailer QD Stores outside London, was short of breath. He experienced just chased following a few shoplifters who had taken off with various deals of laundry cleaning soap. Just before the law enforcement arrived, he sat at a back-home desk to do some thing crucial: Capture the culprits’ faces.
On an growing old desktop pc, he pulled up stability digicam footage, pausing to zoom in and preserve a picture of each individual thief. He then logged in to a facial recognition application, Facewatch, which his shop works by using to determine shoplifters. The subsequent time all those folks enter any store inside a handful of miles that takes advantage of Facewatch, shop personnel will get an notify.
“It’s like owning someone with you expressing, ‘That particular person you bagged final week just came back in,’” Mr. Mackenzie claimed.
Use of facial recognition technologies by the police has been heavily scrutinized in modern many years, but its application by non-public companies has received significantly less consideration. Now, as the engineering enhances and its charge falls, the units are reaching further into people’s life. No extended just the purview of authorities businesses, facial recognition is significantly staying deployed to detect shoplifters, problematic buyers and lawful adversaries.
Facewatch, a British firm, is used by merchants throughout the state disappointed by petty criminal offense. For as very little as 250 lbs a thirty day period, or about $320, Facewatch offers access to a tailored watchlist that shops around one another share. When Facewatch places a flagged confront, an inform is despatched to a smartphone at the shop, the place employees choose whether or not to maintain a near eye on the man or woman or talk to the human being to depart.
Mr. Mackenzie provides one or two new faces each 7 days, he said, mostly people today who steal diapers, groceries, pet supplies and other low-price items. He stated their economic hardship created him sympathetic, but that the selection of thefts experienced gotten so out of hand that facial recognition was wanted. Usually at least at the time a working day, Facewatch alerts him that anyone on the watchlist has entered the retailer.
Facial recognition technological know-how is proliferating as Western nations around the world grapple with advances brought on by synthetic intelligence. The European Union is drafting policies that would ban quite a few of facial recognition’s uses, when Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, has inspired stores to try out the technological know-how to fight crime. MSG Entertainment, the owner of Madison Square Backyard garden and Radio City New music Corridor, has utilised automated facial recognition to refuse entry to lawyers whose corporations have sued the company.
Between democratic nations, Britain is at the forefront of applying are living facial recognition, with courts and regulators signing off on its use. The police in London and Cardiff are experimenting with the engineering to recognize needed criminals as they wander down the avenue. In Could, it was employed to scan the crowds at the coronation of King Charles III.
But the use by suppliers has drawn criticism as a disproportionate option for slight crimes. Persons have minimal way of figuring out they are on the watchlist or how to attraction. In a legal complaint last year, Huge Brother Watch, a civil modern society group, termed it “Orwellian in the serious.”
Fraser Sampson, Britain’s biometrics and surveillance digicam commissioner, who advises the authorities on plan, reported there was “a nervousness and a hesitancy” close to facial recognition technological innovation mainly because of privateness worries and poorly performing algorithms in the earlier.
“But I believe in conditions of pace, scale, precision and value, facial recognition technologies can in some spots, you know, practically be a game changer,” he mentioned. “That suggests its arrival and deployment is possibly inescapable. It’s just a case of when.”
‘You can’t hope the police to come’
Facewatch was started in 2010 by Simon Gordon, the owner of a well-known 19th-century wine bar in central London known for its cellarlike interior and acceptance amid pickpockets.
At the time, Mr. Gordon hired software package developers to make an on the net software to share protection digital camera footage with the authorities, hoping it would preserve the law enforcement time submitting incident reports and outcome in more arrests.
There was confined interest, but Mr. Gordon’s fascination with safety technologies was piqued. He adopted facial recognition developments and had the thought for a watchlist that vendors could share and add to. It was like the pictures of shoplifters that merchants maintain future to the sign up, but supercharged into a collective database to determine terrible guys in real time.
By 2018, Mr. Gordon felt the know-how was ready for commercial use.
“You’ve received to assistance you,” he mentioned in an interview. “You just cannot expect the law enforcement to arrive.”
Facewatch, which licenses facial recognition software made by Authentic Networks and Amazon, is now within virtually 400 retailers across Britain. Qualified on hundreds of thousands of images and films, the devices go through the biometric info of a confront as the person walks into a shop and test it versus a databases of flagged persons.
Facewatch’s watchlist is constantly growing as retailers upload images of shoplifters and problematic consumers. As soon as included, a particular person stays there for a calendar year right before being deleted.
‘Mistakes are uncommon but do happen’
Just about every time Facewatch’s process identifies a shoplifter, a notification goes to a human being who passed a test to be a “super recognizer” — someone with a special expertise for remembering faces. Inside of seconds, the tremendous recognizer must confirm the match towards the Facewatch databases in advance of an inform is despatched.
But when the business has made policies to avoid misidentification and other mistakes, errors materialize.
In October, a female purchasing milk in a grocery store in Bristol, England, was confronted by an personnel and ordered to go away. She was told that Facewatch had flagged her as a barred shoplifter.
The girl, who questioned that her name be withheld due to the fact of privacy fears and whose story was corroborated by supplies presented by her lawyer and Facewatch, mentioned there need to have been a miscalculation. When she contacted Facewatch a couple times afterwards, the firm apologized, stating it was a scenario of mistaken id.
Following the girl threatened authorized action, Facewatch dug into its data. It observed that the girl experienced been extra to the watchlist simply because of an incident 10 months earlier involving £20 of products, about $25. The process “worked perfectly,” Facewatch mentioned.
But even though the technological know-how had properly recognized the lady, it did not leave significantly area for human discretion. Neither Facewatch nor the shop in which the incident happened contacted her to permit her know that she was on the watchlist and to inquire what had happened.
The female said she did not remember the incident and experienced under no circumstances shoplifted. She mentioned she may possibly have walked out right after not realizing that her debit card payment failed to go by means of at a self-checkout kiosk.
Madeleine Stone, the legal and coverage officer for Large Brother Watch, explained Facewatch was “normalizing airport-design security checks for daily actions like acquiring a pint of milk.”
Mr. Gordon declined to comment on the incident in Bristol.
In typical, he said, “mistakes are exceptional but do happen.” He included, “If this takes place, we admit our slip-up, apologize, delete any relevant data to avoid reoccurrence and provide proportionate payment.”
Accredited by the privacy business office
Civil liberties teams have elevated worries about Facewatch and instructed that its deployment to prevent petty criminal offense may well be illegal beneath British privacy regulation, which requires that biometric technologies have a “substantial general public curiosity.”
The U.K. Data Commissioner’s Place of work, the privateness regulator, conducted a yearlong investigation into Facewatch. The business office concluded in March that Facewatch’s method was permissible underneath the regulation, but only following the enterprise manufactured variations to how it operated.
Stephen Bonner, the office’s deputy commissioner for regulatory supervision, reported in an job interview that an investigation experienced led Facewatch to alter its policies: It would set a lot more signage in merchants, share between retailers only info about critical and violent offenders and send out alerts only about repeat offenders. That usually means people today will not be put on the watchlist following a single insignificant offense, as took place to the female in Bristol.
“That decreases the total of individual facts that’s held, lessens the likelihood of people today currently being unfairly additional to this form of record and would make it more likely to be accurate,” Mr. Bonner explained. The engineering, he said, is “not dissimilar to having just very excellent security guards.”
Liam Ardern, the operations supervisor for Lawrence Hunt, which owns 23 Spar advantage suppliers that use Facewatch, estimates the technological innovation has saved the organization far more than £50,000 because 2020.
He referred to as the privacy threats of facial recognition overblown. The only illustration of misidentification that he recalled was when a gentleman was perplexed for his similar twin, who had shoplifted. Critics neglect that suppliers like his work on thin profit margins, he said.
“It’s simple for them to say, ‘No, it is towards human rights,’” Mr. Ardern said. If shoplifting is not minimized, he mentioned, his shops will have to increase selling prices or lower staff members.


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Making presentations look pretty on a large screen is challenging enough. This colorful app transforms data into interactive charts and graphs and instantly sends them to your mobile device. A free version syncs with Excel, but your company will need to pay a $795 one-time license fee for integration with more heavy-duty business-intelligence systems like SAP BusinessObjects and IBM Cognos. Available on iPhone and iPad.
Google and other companies say Near Field Communications will change the way consumers interact with merchants. Too soon? More
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Both Nintendo Europe and Nintendo of America have announced a new, global Nintendo Direct to be aired on June 11th. The broadcast will focus purely on updates about future Wii U games and will be available on the Nintendo Direct website at 10AM EST, 3PM UK time. This is the Nintendo Direct that airs before the start of E3, so expect lots of news for those looking forward to what Nintendo will show this year at E3.
- The Legend of Zelda Wii U won't be out in 2015
- 1001 Spikes getting off-TV play patch next month
- Xenoblade Chronicles' success is Monolith Soft's redemption
- Nintendo wasn't cornered into mobile, says Iwata
TAGS: E3, nintendo direct


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India Raw sugar futures commodities
Raw sugar futures have staged their own Santa rally and are trying to end 2022 with new highs. This is impressive because almost all other commodities are sideways to lower. Global sugar production hasnaEUR(TM)t changed in more than 10 years. In 2023 for the first time ever global sugar consumption will exceed 175m Tonnes. India is the worldaEUR(TM)s largest sugar producer and so is really quite important.


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For decades, folks craving locally crafted Italian sausage on Syracuse's North Side could get their fix at Sam Donze's Meats on North Townsend Street or perhaps Marino's Italian Sausage on Butternut Street.
But Donze's closed in March 2009, and, a few months ago, Marino's was sold.
But this is a good news story for sausage lovers: Marino's was purchased by Mike Donze, whose uncle, Sam, and father, Nunzio, ran that family's business.
Now Mike Donze is making sausage again at the Marino's location, at 1814 Butternut St. (that's north of Grant Boulevard, near Hillside Street). He answers the phone "Marino's/Donze's."
He's making both the Marino's sausage and the Donze's sausage, which are different.
"Donze's is made strictly from pork shoulder butts, which is very lean," he said. It's also a coarser grind than Marino's, which is firmer and made from pork picnics and trimmings as well as shoulder butts, Donze said. The spices are a little different, too.
Donze said since his family's business closed last year, he's been hearing requests from customers to bring its sausage back.
While's he's taking orders for Donze's sausage, he won't have it ready for sale until next week. It'll sell for $2.80 per pound, while Marino's sells for $2.50 per pound. The shop also sells steaks, ground beef and other meat products.
Marino's/Donze's hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, but it's best to call ahead. Donze takes orders at 455-5222.


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DaimerChrysler has recalled more than a million cars in its largest recall ever.
DaimlerChrysler claims the Mercedes recall is a push for quality
The German-US auto giant DaimlerChrysler is recalling 1.3 million Mercedes cars built after June 2001 as part of what it says is a quality improvement offensive in its luxury cars division.
In a statement issued Thursday, company officials said that it wanted to update the braking systems on E-Class, SL-Class and CLS-Class cars built since that date. The company also wants to check and possibly replace the voltage regulator in alternators in six and eight cylinder vehicles built between June 2001 and November 2004. Company officials also want to update battery unit software in its E-Class and CLS-Class models made from January 2002 to January this year.
It is the company's biggest recall to date, one that is not motivated by car safety concerns.
Quality improvement will affect profits
Company officials have already said that the push to improve product quality would decrease profits.
"We are now producing the best product quality ever and our aim is to ensure that those vehicles in the hands of customers which are the cause of complaints achieve a standard of quality that reflects our highest expectations," Mercedes chief Eckhard Cordes said in a statement to Reuters. DaimlerChrysler officials declined to tally the exact cost of the recall.
Symbol of quality?
Georg Stuerzer, an analyst at HVB Group in Munich told Reuters that costs could run as high as hundreds of millions of euros. "On this kind of scale I expect the cost to run into the three-digit million-euro range," he told the news agency. "The quality campaign will weigh further on the company's first quarter."
Shares in DaimlerChrysler dipped after news of the recall.
Mercedes has traditionally been Daimler's most lucrative business, but has had a bumpy ride in recent quarters.
Mercedes' profits, which slid from 20 million euros ($25.8 million) in the last quarter of 2004, have been affected by strong competition, losses by its Smart car brand, a strong euro as a result of the drop of the US dollar, the cost of launching new models and increased spending to fix quality problems.


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NEW YORK (
) -- Shares of
jumped in extended trading Thursday following a report that the San Francisco-based children's apparel retailer may be in play.
According to the
Wall Street Journal
, the company is considering a sale to private equity firms. The article, which cites "people familiar with the matter," says bankers for Gymboree have been soliciting bids from the buyout world, which is sitting on a massive amount of dry powder.
added that there was no auction process going on at this time, and that Gymboree, which is also known for hosting children's parties, could decide not to sell itself. The stock leapt 21.8% to $50.19 on volume of more than 540,000 in afterhours action. A company spokesperson wasn't immediately available for comment.
Based on Wednesday's regular session close at $41.54, Gymboree shares were down about 3% so far in 2010. The stock reached a 52-week high of $55.27 on April 7 but has come down 21% since then.
Wall Street is pretty evenly split on the company at the moment. Of the 13 analysts covering the stock, a slim majority are bullish at either strong buy (6) or buy (2) with the remainder sitting at hold. The median 12-month price target for the shares sits at $52.
Gymboree reported its fiscal second-quarter results on August 18, posting a profit of $12.3 million, or 44 cents a share, on net sales of $219.3 million for the three months ended July 31 as same-store sales fell 3%. The performance was slightly ahead of Wall Street's consensus view but essentially flat with its year-ago results.
At that time, it forecast flat to slightly negative comparable sales for the current third quarter, ending in October, with earnings of between $1.25 to $1.30 a share. The company's next expected news event is the release of its September sales results on Oct. 7.
Written by Michael Baron in New York.
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Disclosure: TheStreet's editorial policy prohibits staff editors, reporters and analysts from holding positions in any individual stocks.


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Twinkies may be able to survive an atomic bomb but may not survive bankruptcy. Hostess has given its striking bakers an ultimatum: Come back to work or we will be forced to liquidate.
Hostess Brands Inc. of Irving, Texas, filed for bankruptcy in January and had around $860 million in debt, reports Reuters. Hostess had won the ability to force pay cuts on its bakery workers in bankruptcy court. The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union rejected these pay cuts and began the strike Friday. The union represents nearly 6,000 of Hostess' employees.
Hostess Wednesday gave its striking workers an ultimatum to return to work by 5 p.m. Thursday. If the striking workers do not return, Hostess says it will be forced to close its operations and liquidate the business. According to Reuters, Hostess has 36 bakeries, 565 distribution centers, 570 stores and 18,000 employees.
Because of the strike, Hostess has been forced to close bakeries in Seattle, St. Louis and Cincinnati, leading to the loss of 627 jobs, notes Bloomberg. One of the reasons behind the strike, according to Bloomberg, was the union's belief that there was a potential buyer for Hostess although that is not the case, Lance Ignon, a Hostess spokesman told Bloomberg.
Hostess' familiar products include Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Wonder Bread.
The Bakers Union represents the second largest group of Hostess employees. The largest union, the Teamsters, had agreed to a new contract, accepting an 8 percent pay cut and a 17 percent cut to benefits. Enough workers have crossed the picket line to allow half of the bakeries owned by Hostess to operate.
Unfortunately, that will not be enough to keep Hostess in business. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gregory Rayburn said Wednesday, "We simply do not have the financial resources to survive an ongoing national strike. Therefore, if sufficient employees do not return to work by 5 p.m. EST on Thursday to restore normal operations, we will be forced to immediately move to liquidate the entire company, which will result in the loss of nearly 18,000 jobs,” reports The Dallas Morning News.
Hostess will file the request to permit liquidation on Friday if the bakery workers do not return, reports Reuters. If Hostess is allowed to liquidate, it could begin to cease operations by Tuesday, firing all employees and only keeping a few on as part of the process to sell the company.
Union President Frank Hurt believes that accepting the pay cuts would set back workplace conditions by more than 60 years, and in a statement said, “"Hostess Brands is making a mockery of the labor relations system that has been in place for nearly 100 years," reports ABC News.


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UK customers visited stores less than ever in the past two months, the level is even lower than during the peak of the financial crisis, according to the new data. In the last month footfall dropped by 3.3% compared to the same period of 2017, which came after a 6% fall of March, together making a slide of 4.8% for the two periods, the data by British Retail Consortium shows.
Even March-April of 2009 registered better level – 3.8% decrease, as analysis by Springboard firm demonstrates. Visa’s data also confirms the negative trend, reporting 2% decline of April’s total consumer expenditure, unable to rebound from March’s low, even though wages showed growth, and weather conditions turned for the better.
Retailers have had a hard time as family budgets continued to lag behind the rise of inflation and the cold weather some time back has also had its harmful effect.
This kind of March-April drop in footfall hasn’t happened since the worst times of recession in 2009, and even then it wasn’t as bad as now, said Springboard’s marketing and insights director Diane Wehrle.


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New Supply Chain World Order is Upon Us, Industry Thought Leader Says
Dayton, OH -- When they write the history of supply chain management, 2007/08 will be recognized as a time when a fundamental shift occurred in global supply chain strategies and requirements, says Dan Gilmore, editor of Supply Chain Digest. Gilmore is one of the supply chain and logistics industry’s most respected commentators.
“It just isn’t about us in North America and Western Europe and more, and in a profound way, this means companies must go well beyond the huge shift we’ve already seen in offshore manufacturing over the past 10 years,’ Gilmore said. “To borrow from a political phrase, I suggest we are now entering a New Supply Chain World Order – one that is truly global, with important ramifications for all of us in the supply chain business and for a company’s overall business strategy.”
Gilmore says the recent events clearly show how dramatically the supply chain environment is changing:
- Boeing and India’s Tata Industries have just agreed on a plan to form a joint venture that will initially include more than $500 million of annual defense-related aerospace component production work in India for export to Boeing and its international customers – a huge shift for Boeing.
- Siemens has just announced plans for building scaled-down versions of many of its products at much lower prices to penetrate the rapidly growing markets in developing countries, where it sees a market opportunity of about $150 billion annually.
- There is a significant economic slow down occurring in the US; under traditional circumstances, this would have already have led to reductions in oil and other commodity prices. Not any more. Commodity prices continue to go up, driven by demand from China and India.
- Procter & Gamble is again using supply chain innovation to gain competitive advantage, but this time not in better continuous replenishment with Wal-Mart, but in micro-delivery methods to affordably get its shampoos and soaps to tiny sales channels in developing markets.
- As never before, China’s manufacturing companies are moving from being low-cost manufacturers of labor-intensive goods to using “cost innovation” to become major competitive threats in product category after product category.
- All the cash and liquidity right now – and likely for some time to come – is in places like Russia, China, and the Middle East, flush with commodity or export-driven riches, giving those countries enormous clout and the ability to invest in Western manufacturers or commodity resources.
- IBM has moved its global procurement headquarters and US executive to Hong Kong; Dell is in the process of making a similar move with its logistics group to Singapore.
“We’ve recognized for some time that “The World is Flat,” as Thomas Friedman so well described, and also that there is a big difference between being “international” versus being truly global,” Gilmore added. “However, even that understanding is changing. As many companies became more global, they still viewed the world from a home-base centricity. Today, the imperative is to think and operate without any real notion of “home country” – and to recognize that building and servicing demand effectively around the world and against a new group of global competitors will require a profound change in supply chain strategy and execution.”
As a result of this seismic shift, companies will need to rethink and retune their supply chain strategies, as companies such as Procter & Gamble, Dell and Siemens are already doing. While there will be some pain in this transition, there will be even more pain for those that fail to adapt as this change “comes at them like a high speed train,” Gilmore said.
An article Mr. Gilmore recently authored on this trend is available at https://www.scdigest.com/assets/FirstThoughts/08-02-28.php. He is available for phone or video interviews on this important topic. To schedule an interview, contact Connie Venema at email@example.com.


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The original Moto X was arguably the phone that relaunched Motorola’s smartphone business as we know it. The 2013 smartphone had nearly stock Android software and innovative (at the time) features including an Active Display (that showed notifications even when the screen was off), and Touchless controls (like always-listening voice controls).
One thing that’s easy to forget is that the original Moto X also had relatively unimpressive specs: it had a 2012-era Snapdragon S4 Pro processor at a time when other flagships were shipping with Snapdragon 800 chips.
Future Moto X smartphones were a little less behind the times, but it’s been a few years since Motorola (which is now owned by Lenovo) released a new Moto X. The company has been focusing on its flagship Moto Z line.
Now the X is back. Motorola is launching the Moto X4 at IFA in Berlin, and like the first Moto X, the new phone has mid-range specs. But mid-range has come a long way in the last few years.
The new phone features a dual camera system with 12MP and 8MP shooters on the back, for instance, along with a 16MP front-facing camera. The dual rear cameras should let you do things like adjust depth effects.
One camera feature that’s missing? Optical image stabilization.
In terms of horsepower, the Moto X4 features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 octa-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor, and 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage (although rumor has is there may be a 4GB/64GB model in some markets… but not the US or Europe).
The phone has a 5.2 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel AMOLED display, an IP68 waterproof body, and a 3,000 mAh battery.
Overall, the Moto X4 seems to have decent specs for a mid-range phone in 2017. But it also has a few unusual features that help set it apart:
- Support for connecting to up to 4 Bluetooth audio devices simultaneously (it’s the first phone to use technology unveiled earlier this year by Tempow)
- Amazon Alexa voice assistant support (you don’t even have to unlock the phone before speaking)
- Quick Screenshot feature lets you snap a screenshot with a three-finger tap-and-hold
- Moto Key lets you access password-protected favorite websites
The Moto X4 is set to go on sale in Europe in September for €399 and the phone should be available in the US and other markets “later this fall.”
The new Moto X is also expected to be the first non-Pixel or Nexus phone compatible with Google’s Project Fi wireless network. That could help it take the place of the discontinued Google Nexus 5X as the affordable alternative to the high-end Pixel and Pixel XL.


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Pernod Ricard will be offering virtual masterclasses and at-home cocktails packages over the Christmas period as part of its preparations for a festive season in which social-distancing measures are expected to still be in place.
The masterclasses will be supported by the drinks company's experiential and consumer activation team, with the target of engaging 15,000 consumers. The experience aims to inspire consumers to return to venues.
To create a Chistmas party at home, consumers will be able to order packages for four or 10 people, consisting of cocktail-making equipment, spirits and mixers.
Pernod Ricard will also be encouraging consumers into bars through above-the-line campaigns going live from September for Powers Irish whiskey, The Glenlivet single-malt whisky and Absolut vodka.
A range of digital assets, including QR codes to allow customers to view menus on their phones and social media templates featuring festive designs and serving inspiration, will be available.
James Bremner, on-trade channel director at Pernod Ricard UK, said: "There's a strong possibility that Christmas will be the first big occasion where people can come together this year and we're committed to supporting our customers by helping them engage with consumers through virtual experiences, driving menu visibility and digital assets to give consumers confidence.
"2020 has been a challenging year for the on-trade, therefore outlets need to focus on getting the basics right to engage with consumers, whilst simultaneously encouraging trade-up to limit value losses. That's why we are investing significantly this year to ensure we are contributing towards the resurgence of the on-trade."


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Apple launches iPhone voice control for drivers
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Apple (AAPL.O) makes its next move in hands-free smartphone technology for car drivers when it unveils a new, integrated iPhone voice-control system at the Geneva Motor Show this week.
The U.S. company's CarPlay makes its debut in Ferrari FIA.MI, Mercedes-Benz (DAIGn.DE) and Volvo (VOLVb.ST) vehicles at the show, demonstrating the software system that allows drivers to control their iPhones via touch and voice, Apple said on Monday.
Carmakers have already enabled some access to smartphones via bluetooth technology, but Apple's latest offering aims to integrate iPhone functionality more seamlessly with dashboard-mounted display and speaker systems.
CarPlay enables drivers to access to contacts stored on the iPhone, make calls, return missed calls or listen to voicemails without taking their hands from the steering wheel.
Drivers can also use maps, listen to music and access messages "with just a word or a touch", Apple said. Drivers will also be able to read messages and dictate responses via Apple's voice-activated Siri software.
Apple said that CarPlay will also be available in cars from manufacturers including BMW (BMWG.DE), Ford (F.N), General Motors (GM.N), Honda, Hyundai, PSA Peugeot Citroën (PEUP.PA), Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota Motor Corp.
(Reporting by Harro ten Wolde and Edward Taylor; Editing by David Goodman)
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Golfers across Ireland have more reason than ever to visit the rising star of Italian golf, Donnafugata Golf Resort & Spa in Sicily, with the impending launch of a new flight route from Dublin to Comiso.
From the start of April, low-cost carrier Ryanair will operate a twice-weekly service from Dublin into Comiso airport, which opened last May and is located just 20 minutes away from the deluxe resort.
Fares for the new route start from €33.99 and it is among the latest services into Comiso to be unveiled by Ryanair, following the launch of flights from London Stansted, Rome Ciampino, Brussels Charleroi, Pisa, Frankfurt Hahn and Kaunas (Lithuania) airports in the last six months.
Ryanair’s combined new services are forecast to deliver more than 200,000 passengers per year into the region, with other new routes announced recently including Alitalia’s twice-weekly service from Milan Linate airport.
The new flights will complement the already-existing service that Aer Lingus operates from Dublin to Catania airport, 90 minutes’ drive away from Donnafugata.
Pablo Rey Rodriguez, general manager at Donnafugata Golf Resort & Spa, said: “The new airport has had a very positive impact on visitor numbers since it opened and the launch of the new Dublin service is further good news for the resort and region.
“Irish golfers are renowned across Europe for their love of the game. We are very proud at Donnafugata of our two championship courses and other golfing facilities and are looking forward to showing off what we have to offer to a new golfing audience in the coming months.”
Donnafugata Golf Resort & Spa has won widespread support and acclaim across the golf industry in Europe since opening in 2010.
Venue for the 2011 Sicilian Open, won by Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin, the resort was the first course in Italy to be invited to join IMG Prestige, an exclusive collection of some of the world’s most celebrated golfing venues.
Other recent highlights include both its courses being named in Golf World’s biennial list of the ‘Top 200 Courses in Continental Europe’ and the new ‘Top 30 Courses in Italy’ rankings released by popular website www.top100courses.co.uk.
Set in the beautiful area of Donnafugata, a natural reserve and famous tourist destination known for the imposing castle which bears the same name, the resort also boasts a number of fantastic historical cities nearby. These include Val di Noto, the heart of Sicilian baroque: Ragusa Ibla, Modica, Noto and Scicli. All of them are deemed fitting of UNESCO World Heritage status.
Donnafugata Golf Resort & Spa has 202 rooms, an award-winning spa and health club, swimming pools and three restaurants offering a broad selection of gastronomic delights, well accompanied by perfect Sicilian wines to enhance flavour.


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Here's the breaking news on Road Show.
Mitsubishi is keeping it affordable at this year's Chicago Auto Show.
The automaker unveiled the 2017 Outlander Sport Limited Edition.
For around $22,000, buyers get blacked out exterior trim, a backup camera, red contrast stitching and an infotainment system with Apple Carplay and Android Auto It'll go on sale later this month, but it'll only exist until the end of the 2017 model year, which should be sometime this fall.
Speaking to a crowd at the Automotive News Retail Forum, Lynk and Co Executive Vice President Alan Visser talked about how Lynk wants to do things differently.
The car will be dropped off with the owner and it'll be picked up when service is necessary.
Model years and trim levels are gone.
Instead, the car will come fully loaded and new paint colors will debut during different seasons.
It'll also be offered as a subscription, kind Kind of like Spotify or Netflix but buyers can still lease or finance one.
Maserati issued two recalls covering 50,000 cars both of which involve increased fire risks.
The first recall affects 2013-2017 Quatro Fortes.
Ghibli and Levante, where an improperly routed wiring harness might wear down when the front seats are adjusted.
The second recall affects just the Quattroporte and the Ghibli, and this one involves fuel lines that might weep or leak fuel.
Both recalls are expected to begin within the next two months.
Find more on these stories over on theroadshow.com and we'll talk to you tomorrow.


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Chinese sports brand Li Ning teams up with Xiaomi to launch ‘smart’ trainers
Mon 16 Mar 2015
According to recent reports, leading Chinese tech company Xiaomi is planning to release a line of ‘smart’ running shoes, in association with sportswear firm Li Ning, by the end of 2015.
Li Ning has partnered with Xiaomi’s wearables startup Huami Technology responsible for the fitness tracking wristband Mi Band. “We have chosen to collaborate with the Mi band because of Huami Technology’s strength in “smart” wearable products. We hope to use this opportunity to provide professional “smart” running shoes to running enthusiasts in China at an affordable price,” said Ning.
Smart chipsets will be implanted into the soles of the running shoes and will connect to the runner’s smartphone via the Xaomi mobile app, allowing users to monitor their progress and results while they run, such as distance ran and specific achievements.
Li Ning, the Beijing-based sports company founded by the former Olympic gymnast of the same name, is struggling in terms of revenue due to declining sales following the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The brand, supported by private equity firm TPG Capital and Singaporean wealth fund GIC, announced in January that it expected to report a third consecutive year of losses, was undergoing a re-structure and was looking for innovative technologies to help boost its profits. Xiaomi, on the other hand, is seeing its income rocket within its domestic Chinese market as well as across its other Asian operations including India, Singapore and the Philippines.
Apart from its smartphone products, Xiaomi has recently unveiled its YiCamera, a GoPro rival action camera, and has announced plans to launch a smartwatch in the near future.
The tech giant also revealed earlier this year that 25 companies are now members of its smart home community, featuring smart products such as smart TV sets, a blood pressure management kit, the Mi Air Purifier, and a smart water purifier currently under-development.


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E Ink Holdings Inc (元太科技), which supplies e-paper displays for Rakuten Kobo Inc’s e-reader series, yesterday reported a 35 percent sequential decline in net profit for last quarter, mainly due to a reduction in royalty fees.
Net income shrank to NT$509 million (US$15.97 million) last quarter, compared with NT$780 million in the prior quarter. Earnings per share dropped to NT$0.45 from NT$0.68.
However, operating income grew more than 2.5-fold to NT$432 million in the third quarter from NT$171 million in the second quarter. That marked the second straight quarter that E Ink reported an operating profit.
However, a slump in non-
operating income dragged down E Ink’s bottom line.
Non-operating income dipped almost 80 percent to NT$178 million last quarter from NT$879 million a quarter earlier, because of lower patent royalty income and asset impairment due to the New Taiwan dollar’s appreciation versus the world’s major currencies.
For the full year, E Ink expects royalty fees — a swing factor on its bottom line — to tumble between 15 and 20 percent annually, a bigger contraction than the company’s previous estimate of 10 to 15 percent, E Ink chief financial officer Lloyd Chen (陳樂群) told investors.
The company last year booked NT$3 billion in royalty income by licensing high-resolution fringe-field-switching LCD manufacturing technology to LCD panel makers. The technology was developed by its South Korean subsidiary Hydis Technology Inc.
Commenting on the company’s core businesses, Chen said that revenue this quarter would grow between 10 and 15 percent year-on-year to between NT$3.08 billion and NT$3.22 billion, from NT$2.8 billion in the fourth quarter last year.
That implies a quarterly contraction of between 27 and 31 percent from last quarter’s NT$4.44 billion, as shipments of e-paper display for e-readers taper off as the Christmas shopping spree draws to a close.
Gross margin is expected to shrink to about 35 percent this quarter from last quarter’s 38.14 percent, Chen said.
E Ink also said it expects revenue next year would entirely come from selling e-paper displays, as it is exiting the LCD market.
E-paper displays used in e-tags for luggage and shelf labels for retailers would become the company’s growth drivers in the next few years, Chen said.
Luggage maker Rimowa has introduced electronic luggage tags that use E Ink’s e-paper displays. E Ink’s e-paper displays are also used by some retailers for their shelf labels, replacing traditional paper labels.
E Ink said it is now focusing on developing bigger-sized e-paper displays, color e-paper displays and flexible e-paper displays to expand its markets.
As part of its LCD exit, E Ink shut down its Hydis factories in South Korea last year.
This year, it is revamping a local LCD plant, which will be streamlined and transformed into an e-paper display research and development plant.
LCD panels accounted for only about 10 percent of E Ink’s revenue last quarter, while e-paper displays for e-readers made up 70 percent, the company said.
E Ink shares climbed 0.42 percent to NT$23.75 yesterday, outperforming the TPEx’s 0.07 percent gain.
STEPPING UP: The firm has also asked employees to work in split shifts from this week and to halt all but essential overseas business travel from next month Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has implemented a remote work policy for employees not on production lines in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19, the world’s largest contract chipmaker said yesterday. This is the first time in the Hsinchu-based company’s history that it has launched a large-scale remote work policy, joining global technology companies, such as Apple Inc and Google, that encourage employees to work from home. The chipmaker has also asked employees to work in split shifts from this week, it said. As the number of virus infections continues to climb worldwide, TSMC has urged employees to halt unnecessary
Manufacturers are on a mission to produce desperately needed medical ventilators for the COVID-19 pandemic, even if it means converting assembly lines now making auto parts. Along with a shortage of masks and gloves, the spread of COVID-19 to almost every corner of the globe has highlighted a great need for specialized machines that help keep severely afflicted patients alive. “As the global pandemic evolves, there is unprecedented demand for medical equipment, including ventilators,” GE Healthcare chief executive officer Kieran Murphy said. The group has hired more workers and is making ventilators around the clock. Swedish group Getinge AB is also ramping up output
Facing the rapidly evolving global COVID-19 pandemic, Citibank Taiwan Ltd (台灣花旗) has proactively taken precautionary measures. “The health and safety of our colleagues and their families, as well as our clients and the communities we serve, are of the utmost importance. We continue to take proactive measures to preserve their well-being while we maintain our ability to serve our clients,” Citibank Taiwan chairman Paulus Mok (莫兆鴻) said in a statement yesterday. “We have local and regional contingency plans in place, and we have well-established business continuity plans for the firm. We are monitoring the situation closely, adjusting our operations accordingly,
GoShare, an electric scooter sharing service provider with Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), plans to expand to Tainan next quarter in a strategic alliance with Aeon Motor Co (宏佳騰). The company currently offers its services in Taipei and Taoyuan. “Tainan is very popular among tourists. The city receives an average of 22.94 million tourists every year,” GoShare head Henry Chiang (姜家煒) told a news conference yesterday in Taipei, citing Tourism Bureau statistics. “Besides, the city has a long history of riding scooters,” he said. Each household owns an average of 2.5 scooters, he added. “Expanding presence” is one of four strategies GoShare is adopting for this


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If you shop at Costco, Wal-Mart, Safeway, Target, Albertsons or other major stores, you might want to take a second look at your celery.
Last week, the seemingly innocent vegetable sparked a recall of Costco chicken salad when Taylor Farms Pacific, Inc., based in Tracy, CA, found that it could contain E. coli. Now, that recall has been expanded to more than 16 states, reports USA Today.
At last count, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the E. coli-contaminated celery had sickened 19 people and hospitalized five across seven states. No deaths have been reported so far.
E. coli causes gastrointestinal illness, marked by symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting. While E. coli isn't often deadly for healthy people, USA Today reports that this particular strain of E. coli can be especially severe — for children in particular. Two of the hospitalized patients in the current outbreak had a type of kidney failure.
The potentially contaminated celery is thought to have reached mostly states in the West, but Hawaii, Arkansas, Nebraska and Georgia are also included in the recall, according to a joint report from the Associated Press and Fox News.
The affected celery was used in mixes and prepared foods — not just sold fresh in the produce section. The US Food and Drug Administration published a complete list of affected products in a press release from Taylor Farms Pacific on its website.


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Social media, smartphones, and other cutting-edge technology were supposed to improve the social experience and facilitate communications and access to information. But now they’ve become the source of many ills, including fake news, live suicides and murders, hate speech and trolling, inescapable filter bubbles and an immense distraction problem.
In the past year, we saw an increasing number of incumbent and former tech execs acknowledge the adverse effects that their most revered products have on their users and the society in general. Their story runs oddly in parallel to that of Dr. Victor Frankenstein, the fictional scientist who tried to flee the grotesque creature he created in his lab.
Frankenstein’s monster eventually caught up with him, destroyed everything dear to him and led to the doctor’s own demise. Is the tech industry headed for a similarly tragic fate?
Our brains have been hijacked
Tristan Harris used to be a product manager at Google. Today, he’s a vocal critic of the way big tech companies (such as the one he helped flourish) design their products in ways to keep users hooked to them. Harris has given a TED Talk on the topc, appeared on CBS 60 Minutes, and has been interviewed by several publications.
He now runs Time Well Spent, a nonprofit organization that aims to stop tech companies (like the one he helped flourish) from “hijacking our minds.”
In an interview with Wired, Harris said, “[Technology is] possibly the largest source of influence over 2 billion people’s thoughts that has ever been created. Religions and governments don’t have that much influence over people’s daily thoughts. But we have three technology companies who have this system that frankly they don’t even have control over—with newsfeeds and recommended videos and whatever they put in front of you—which is governing what people do with their time and what they’re looking at.”
Of course, he’s talking about the likes of Google, Facebook and Apple, companies that own devices and services that collect tons of data from their customers and “are better and better at steering what people are paying attention to, and better and better at steering what people do with their time than ever before.”
Examples include YouTube’s autoplay feature, Snapchat streaks, social awareness cues that tell you how recently someone was present online or has viewed your profile. These features, when combined with the wealth of data that these companies have about their users and the machine learning algorithms that power their platforms, makes these systems “better at hijacking your instincts than you are at controlling them,” Harris says. “You’d have to exert an enormous amount of energy to control whether these things are manipulating you all the time.”
God only knows what it’s doing to our children’s brains
Facebook made a billionaire out of Sean Parker, its founding president. Now, Parker regrets the unintended consequences of what he helped created (except for the money he made, most probably).
“[Facebook] literally changes your relationship with society, with each other. It probably interferes with productivity in weird ways,” Parker said at an Axios event.
In his early days, he would deride people who would avoid social media in favor of real-life interactions, and would tell them that they would eventually sign up on the platform anyway. “I don’t know if I really understood the consequences of what I was saying,” he said at the Axios event.
Parker says Facebook’s designers aimed to create something that could consume as much of the time and conscious attention of its users as possible. “And that means that we need to sort of give you a little dopamine hit every once in a while, because someone liked or commented on a photo or a post or whatever. And that’s going to get you to contribute more content, and that’s going to get you… more likes and comments.”
Parker said that he, Zuckerberg and other Facebook developers consciously knew they were exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology. “And we did it anyway,” he admitted.
“God only knows what it’s doing to our children’s brains,” Parker said.
Hating the “like” button
In 2007, Justin Rosenstein was among a small team of Facebook developers who created the “like” button, initially called the “awesome” button. The feature was wildly successful and led to a spike of engagement across Facebook, as well as replications on other platforms such as Twitter and Instagram.
Presently, Rosenstein works on a laptop tweaked to block Reddit. He has also banned himself from Snapchat and has imposed limits on his use of Facebook. He also uses an iPhone on which his assistant has set a parental lock to prevent him from installing new apps.
“It is very common for humans to develop things with the best of intentions and for them to have unintended, negative consequences,” Rosenstein say in an interview with Guardian. “One reason I think it is particularly important for us to talk about this now is that we may be the last generation that can remember life before,” he added.
Blaming others for your own mess
“I don’t believe in overuse [of technology]. I’m not a person that says we’ve achieved success if you’re using it all the time. I don’t subscribe to that at all,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said during a visit to Harlow college in Essex, UK.
Cook, who doesn’t have a child, said he doesn’t want his nephew to be on social networks. But while he was quick to criticize social media networks for creating addictive and distracting services, he didn’t acknowledge his own company’s contribution to the problem
Last year, former Apple employees who helped design the iPhone asserted at a talk that the device has a distractive and addictive effect. “I certainly am not excited about how much of a distraction it is in people’s lives,” said Brian Huppi, one of the principal input engineers who developed the iPhone’s initial touchscreen foundation. “I’ve got to believe there’s just so many accidents on the road now from people looking at their phones.”
More recently, Wall Street investors sent an open letter to Apple, asking the company to study the health effects of its products and to make it easier for parents to limit their children’s use of iPhones and iPads. “As more and more founders of the biggest tech companies are acknowledging today, the days of just throwing technology out there and washing your hands of the potential impact are over,” said Barry Rosenstein, managing partner of Jana Partners, the investment firm that wrote the letter, in an interview with The New York Times.
How to fix the problem?
“The first step is just understanding that you don’t really get to choose how you react to things,” Harris, the former Google product manager, told Wired. As Harris explains, we must acknowledge that we’re up against thousands of engineers, some of the world’s smartest minds “working to undermine the agency we have over our minds.”
He also suggests new designs for mobile and web applications geared toward encouraging users to meet in person instead of pushing for more engagements online. For instance, he suggests that the Comment button is replaced with a “Let’s meet” button.
Harris suggests that these companies must look toward new business models. He draws an analogy from early energy companies, whose profit was tied to customers consuming more and more energy, what he called a perverse relationship. “In many US states, we changed the model to decouple how much money energy companies make from how much energy you use,” he said. “We need to do something like that for the attention economy, because we can’t afford a world in which this arms race is to get as much attention from you as possible.”
But how do you convince companies like Facebook to remedy a situation that is making them billions of dollars? These companies have built their empires on monetizing user attention. If they start altering their services to stop distracting their users, they will be hurting their own bottom lines.
Some believe device manufacturers like Apple are better positioned to contribute to the solution, because their main revenue comes from selling hardware, not keeping users hooked to their devices. Apple doesn’t care how much you use your iPhone so long as you buy a new one every two years or so. Therefore, if it changes its iOS operating system to make it less distracting (by maybe changing the way or how often it displays notifications), it can help address the distraction problem without hurting its business model (given that the change doesn’t affect customers’ inclination to buy its new iPhones when Apple rolls them out).
In my opinion, that we can’t trust any of the big tech corporations to take any part in fixing their own mess. Hopefully, as the public becomes more aware of the endemic problem that incumbent tech firms are causing, they’ll start migrating to decentralized platforms that put users in more control of their digital lives. How much more damage will tech’s Frankenstein cause by then? We have yet to see.


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The Dutch government has approved the long-term development plan of the country, which, among other things, to prohibit the sale of vehicles with internal combustion engines already in 2030. The restriction only applies to new cars to be illegal to drive on older machines with internal combustion engines, the authorities do not intend to.
The Netherlands will be one of the first countries in Europe where it will be a ban on petrol and diesel cars.
For example, Norway intends to nullify the sale of vehicles with internal combustion engine by 2025, and France and Britain are thinking about the introduction of such restrictions until 2040.
Electric cars now occupy only 2% of the new car market of the Netherlands, and the volume of the market is not great – about half a million cars a year.
The leader is the Tesla company even opened in the Netherlands the Central European office. Thus, the first and second place of sales are the Tesla Model S and Model X respectively, but the third place – electric car Hyundai Ioniq Electric.


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Yukon Cornelius would be proud.
Goldhorn Brewery is releasing its holiday stout named Misfit Toy in four-packs of 16-ounce cans this year. The beer, which is made with coffee and cinnamon, is expected to hit the retail market by mid-November.
It's all part of the Cleveland brewery's plan to start releasing seasonal beers in four-packs. Misfit Toy — the name is an obvious nod to the Island of Misfit Toys in the television classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer — is the first one. The beer is 7 percent alcohol by volume.
The four-packs will retail for $9.99.
In other Goldhorn news, the brewery is hosting a Pies & Pints pop-up event with chef Teresa Scrimenti from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday (Nov. 7); Movers & Shakers Panel including TJ Carrie of the Cleveland Browns from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 8); and a Scrabble tournament from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 10) benefiting Kinnect.


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Prime Video ads could open up a significant revenue stream for Amazon, according to Wall Street analysts.
Leaked Amazon Prime Video pitch reveals new stats to entice advertisers and compete with Netflix and Disney
Amazon is pitching advertisers on Prime Video ads with new stats about its audience.
E-commerce analytics firm MikMak is removing a competitor by acquiring assets from rival ChannelAdvisor
Adtech firms are racing to grab more of the retail media business, expected to be worth $130B.
The technology will help publishers sell video, audio, and display ads on and off Amazon, according to job postings.
Google and Meta are creating so much new ad inventory, it's causing big price drops. Here's how much ads cost across the Big Tech giants.
Ad prices declined in the second quarter as new formats like Reels and Shorts rolled out.
Inside TikTok's pitch to get marketers selling on Shops, and why the biggest brands are wary of investing
US brands are starting to test TikTok's shopping feature that competes with Amazon, but marketers say that it will be tough to convince big brands to use the feature.
Some Amazon advertisers are building customized tools to prevent Prime Day glitches from draining their ad spend
Amazon's ad platform has experienced a handful of glitches over the past year, which have caused advertisers to overspend
Amazon is pitching advertisers on its ad-buying tools that place ads on Amazon's own properties and other publishers' websites, going head-to-head with Google and The Trade Desk.
Retail ad prices for Walmart and Amazon have dipped while prices at Kroger and Instacart shot way up. Here's what advertisers are paying today.
The price of retail advertising is largely coming down as retailers roll out tech tools for buying ads.
Walmart's head ad sales exec said that the retailer has big ambitions to grow its digital ad sales while still focusing on its huge in-store reach.
Walmart is aggressively growing its ad business. Meet the 12 execs spearheading its attempt to take on Amazon and capture more share of the surging retail media market.
Amazon Advertising talent is being poached for C-suite roles at other firms. Meet 10 former execs who jumped to companies like TripleLift and LoopMe.
A number of former Amazon ad execs like TripleLift's Ed Dinichert have left the e-commerce giant to apply their experience to new roles.
Instacart, Walmart, and others are rushing to power streaming TV ads to capture a $5.6 billion opportunity for retail media
Retailers and streamers are teaming up to sell targeted TV ads and prove to advertisers that streaming ads are more effective than linear TV ads.
Retail media will be a $130 billion industry next year, and adtech firms Criteo and The Trade Desk will win big, according to Morgan Stanley
Retailers are working with adtech firms like Criteo and The Trade Desk to quickly stand up advertising businesses.
As competition for the $45 billion retail media market heats up, one of its biggest players is expanding beyond advertising to stay on top
Pacvue's move into retail highlights the growing competition for companies to stand out in selling e-commerce ads.
Gap has quietly dissolved its advertising business. It shows the challenges companies have competing for the $45 billion retail media industry.
Gap is shifting resources from its once-promising retail ad business to focus on supply chain and custom apparel programs.
Retail media is upending the business relationship between brands and ad sellers like Amazon and Walmart
Some advertisers want to change how they're being asked to buy e-commerce ads from retailers. Walmart, Amazon, and Target are tweaking their ad pitches in response.
3 things that will propel Uber's ad offering to become a $1 billion business, according to advertisers
Advertisers told Insider how the ride-sharing app is pitching ads and why it faces tough competition from retailers and non-retailers like Lyft.
Lowe's will no longer outsource its ad sales business as it gears up to grab a bigger piece of the $45 billion retail media opportunity
Lowe's plan to bring its advertising business in-house will include pitching brands on moving TV budgets to e-commerce.


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Mitsubishi to set up JV poultry plant in Thailand
Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp has unveiled plan to open a plant in Thailand to fry, steam and freeze chicken for export to Japan and elsewhere, under ...
F&N to further increase its stake in Vinamilk
F&N Dairy Investments Pte Ltd has registered to purchase 14.5 million shares in Vietnam’s largest dairy producer, Vietnam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk) in a bid ...
Vinasoy opens 3rd soymilk factory in Binh Duong
Vietnam Soya Products Company (Vinasoy), the country’s leading soymilk brand, has opened its 3rd factory at a cost of Dong 900 billion (US$39.63 million) in ...
Thai beer conglomerate snaps Sabeco shares at a premium
Thai Beverage Plc (ThaiBev) has won an auction to buy a majority stake (54%) worth US$4.84 billion in Vietnam's top brewer Sabeco, a major deal ...
Masan aims to buy-out lucrative coffee producer
Masan Beverage, a subsidiary of Vietnam’s FMCG giant, Masan Group Corporation plans to make an offer to buy out Vinacafé Bien Hoa JSC, according to ...
Food Empire Group expands into RTD coffee, iced tea in India
Singapore-based Food Empire Group has acquired an 80% stake in India’s Positive Food Ventures and its Brewhouse iced tea business, with an investment value estimated ...
TeaBox raise US$5.3 million to expand offline
India’s premium tea brand, TeaBox has successfully raised S$7 million (US$5.3 million) in fresh funding with a combination of equity and venture debt from Singapore-based ...
Aalst Chocolate findings its way into China’s competitive chocolate industry
Singapore-owned chocolate producer, Aalst is making its way into China's highly competitive chocolate confectionery segment where major players like Mars and Hershey are also fighting ...
Cargill to invest US$50 million to double production capacity of its cooked poultry
US-based Cargill plans to invest US$50 million to add a new poultry production line at its plant in the city of Chuzhou which will be ...
Kewpie plans to set up subsidiary in China
Japanese based Kewpie Corp plans to set up a wholly-owned food subsidiary in Guangzhou, China in January 2018, with a registered capital of Rmb 270 ...
AB InBev opens Asia’s largest brewery in China, plans further expansion in 2018
The world’s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev has officially opened Asia’s largest beer production facility in southeastern China in December 2017, signifying the importance of China ...
Fosun to acquire Tsingtao stake from Asahi
Fosun Group, one of China's biggest buyers of overseas assets, has turned its sights back to its domestic market, as it buys out Asahi Goup’s ...
Proterra to exit China-focus dairy business, seek better deal in the region
Proterra Investment Partners has recently sold its remaining stake in dairy company, AustAsia to its joint-venture Indonesian partner, Japfa for US$263 million.
Singapore-headquartered AustAsia provides fresh ...
Russian company to set up Ice Cream plant in China to meet soaring demand
Russia’s Penza Refrigeration Co. has disclosed plan to start an ice cream production project in northwest China’s Shaanxi province in 2018.
The company struck a deal ...
Soju producer opens a branch in Vietnam
Hite Jinro Co., South Korea’s leading soju manufacturer has established a new branch in Vietnam, as it attempts to tap deeper into the huge market.
Arla partners Indofood in dairy JV
Denmark-based dairy giant, Arla Foods has entered into a dairy joint venture (JV) with Indonesia’s PT Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur Tbk (ICBP), as part of ...
Indofood buys Asahi stake in JVs for US$20 million
Indonesia's largest food company, Indofood Sukses Makmur has confirmed that it will buy Japan-based Asahi Group Holdings' stakes in 2 non-alcoholic beverage joint ventures (JVs) ...
Mitr Phol to partner Olam Indonesia in sugar production
Thailand’s Mitr Phol Group, the world's 4th largest and Asia's largest sugar producer, has partnered with Olam International Ltd to invest in Olam's sugar business ...
BreadTalk forms JV with Japanese wholesaler
BreadTalk Group has partnered with Japan’s Shinmei Corp, which is also Japan’s largest exporter of rice and owner of Genki Sushi chain of of restaurants, ...
Swee Heng Bakery to triple production capacity with new factory
Singapore’s well-known Swee Heng Bakery has recently opened its 6,000 sq.metre state-of-the-art factory at Senoko Avenue, which houses a central kitchen as well as a ...
10 food companies get US$3.8 million in grant from government to create ‘healthier’ food
Ten food companies in Singapore have received grants totalling S$5 million (US$3.8 million) from the Health Promotion Board (HPB) to create healthier staple food, about ...
Nuchev to raise capital to support its Goat Milk expansion in Australia, China
Australia’s infant formula company, Nuchev is another step closer to a likely public float in 2018 after a fresh capital raising of more than A$7 ...
Kirin officially takes a stake in Mandalay Brewery
Kirin Holdings has officially taken a stake in Mandalay Brewery, the brewer of Mandalay Lager Beer, Mandalay Strong Beer and Mandalay Spirulina Beer.
Japanese brewer Kirin ...
Cargill: Jollibee JV officially opens Philippines’ largest poultry plant
A joint venture (JV) between agribusiness giant Cargill and homegrown fast food giant, Jollibee Foods Corp. (Jollibee) has sucessfully inaugurated a new poultry processing facility ...
Malaysian firm to contract manufacture Halal salmon skin chips for Japan’s Edoya Co
Malaysia’s Jabi Rice has sealed a deal to make Halal salmon skin chips for Japanese firm Edoya, which is keen to boost sales to Muslim ...
Ferrero to acquire Nestle's confectionery business in the US
The Ferrero Group and its affiliated companies ("Ferrero"), has recently announced a definitive agreement pursuant to which it will acquire the US confectionery business from ...
Nutifood signs contract to sell its baby formula in the US
Nutifood, Vietnam's leading private dairy company, has recently signed a contract with an American distributor, Delori Foods to sell its Pedia Plus infant formula line ...
Feihe’s purchase of Vitamin World will help it break into China’s growing Nutritional Food market
Feihe International’s purchase of US-based Vitamin World Inc for US$28 million was recently approved by the US bankruptcy court.
This will help Feihe, China’s biggest domestic ...
Copyright © 2000 Consumer Goods Intelligence Pte Ltd. All rights reserved. Asia Food & Beverages is trademark or registered trademark of Consumer Goods Intelligence Pte Ltd. All other company, product and brand names are trademarks of their respective owners.


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A federal judge says an American Indian tribe's lawsuit alleging that beer makers and nearby retailers are responsible for chronic alcoholism on a South Dakota reservation belongs in state court.
U.S. District Judge John M. Gerrard dismissed the lawsuit Monday but didn't rule on its merits. Instead, he said federal courts lack jurisdiction because the lawsuit isn't making claims regarding federal law.
The lawsuit was filed by the Oglala Sioux Tribe, which governs the impoverished Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where alcohol is banned.
But four beer stores in Whiteclay, a Nebraska town on the reservation's border, sold the equivalent of 4.3 million 12-ounce cans last year. Whiteclay has about a dozen residents.
Gerrard says there's "little question that alcohol sold in Whiteclay contributes significantly to tragic conditions on the reservation."
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LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) — The world of fashion and fundraising are coming together to grant one Lafayette woman's wish.
McCutcheon High School student Chloe Caldwell,18, was diagnosed with cancer at age 16. The Lafayette-based Wish Gala and Fashion Show is helping send her to France.
“This has been my dream since my freshman year,” said Caldwell.
Caldwell's dream to study abroad in France was put on hold just before her 17th birthday.
“She one night said she had chest pains and the next day we were in Riley (Hospital for Children) and they said she had a ten-centimeter mass in her chest and they started chemotherapy the next week,” said Denise Caldwell, Chloe’s mother.
Caldwell was diagnosed with Stage Two Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The Wish Gala and Fashion Show has been a major fundraiser for Greater Lafayette Make-A-Wish kids since 2013. Caldwell is now the next to benefit.
“It just kind of shows how much Make-A-Wish really cares about its people and just the amount that a community can come together to support children who have struggled a lot,” said Caldwell.
This fashion show is primarily run on donations and volunteering. Owners of the New Journey Farms venue offered the event space for free, local boutiques provided the outfits, MoMichelle Makeup and Lola Hair Artistry provided their services free of charge, Phoenix Catering supplied free food, the models are high school students volunteering their time and those in attendance are people willing to give.
“We just kind of started, it was originally with a boutique that was in town that the owner had passed away, she was a friend of mine and Make-A-Wish was really near and dear to her heart,” said Sarah Parent, event coordinator.
Parent said it only made sense to honor her friend through mixing the world of fashion and fundraising by incorporating local businesses.
“We said let's come together and have everybody do a fashion show for Make-A-Wish because it really impacts families that are going through something really hard,” said Parent.
This year's fashion show raised more than $8,000 for Caldwell's trip.
“It's incredibly overwhelming that they would do this to make Chloe's wish come true,” said Frank Caldwell, Chloe’s father.
Caldwell plans to use this wish for an educational opportunity. Her dream job is to become a foreign language teacher.
“Being able to communicate to people is something that's really important throughout all aspects of life and learning a different language opens you up to so many different people,” said Caldwell.
Caldwell is in the stage of remission, which means she's currently cancer free. She will graduate from McCutcheon High School this spring. She leaves for France in June and she'll stay for six weeks.


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This app has all the ingredients to be successful.
The team at MIT CSAIL has created Pic2Recipe, a new AI-driven software that can spit out ingredients and cooking directions for a dish just by analyzing a picture of it.
Think Shazam for food -- kind of like that app the guys from HBO's "Silicon Valley" tried building.
How does Pic2Recipe work?
CSAIL researchers borrowed from cooking websites to build a database of over 1 million recipes and then connected it to an aggregate of modified versions of pre-existing food recognition platforms.
The team then trained a neural network to link a picture that’s uploaded to it with one in its database of food images and, eventually, a recipe.
During tests, the software was able to bring up the correct recipe 65 percent of the time, its creators said, but even then it sometimes left out ingredients.
Pic2Recipe right now does best with desserts like cookies or muffins, MIT explained in a release about it, and so far has most difficulty determining exact ingredients for more ambiguous foods like sushi rolls and smoothies.
Researchers said they will continue improving the accuracy and abilities of the software, possibly even bringing a “dinner aide” feature to it that will examine the ingredients in your fridge and tell you the dishes you can make with them.
You can try Pic2Recipe right now at its MIT CSAIL demo page.
Though its creators have no plans to commercialize Pic2Recipe, its techniques are expected to be made available for free, so others with more of an entrepreneurial calling can bring it to app stores. We think we might know a team who would have been interested:


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“I’ve mostly been listening to dirty rap lately. That’s sort of my scene. Really, really obscene hip-hop. I love it so much. It makes me laugh and then it makes me want to dance. Those are like my two favorite things, so combined … I’ve been listening a lot lately to ‘Wait (The Whisper Song)’ by the Ying Yang Twins, where the lyrics are like, ‘Wait ’til you see my dick’ — which is just amazing because it’s whispered. [whispers] ‘Wait ’til you see my dick…’ Crazy. So I just listen to it like I’m a five-year-old, like, ‘Oh my god! I can’t believe he just said that!’”
–Natalie Portman to Jake Gyllenhaal, who interviews her for the new issue of Interview [via Huffington Post] Keep reading »
Adam Goldstein, aka DJ AM, one of Hollywood’s (and the country’s) most loved DJs, was found dead in his New York apartment yesterday. He was 36. Almost one year ago, Goldstein and musician Travis Barker survived a fatal plane crash in South Carolina, in which they both received severe burns. Goldstein was also a recovering drug addict, having developed an addiction to crack cocaine in his 20s. Though he had been sober for the past nine years — and had recently finished filming an MTV reality show about addiction — Goldstein’s body was allegedly found next to bottles of prescription drugs and other drug paraphernalia, including a pipe commonly used to smoke crack. Friends say he had been dealing with the lingering emotional trauma of his near-death experience last year. Goldstein’s last Twitter update, from Tuesday, quoted Grand Master Flash, saying, “New York, New York. Big city of dreams, but everything in New York ain’t always what it seems.” [NY Post] Keep reading »
Man, this week was a downer! Senator Ted Kennedy, a champion of women’s rights, passed away. Chris Brown avoided jail time for beating the crap out of Rihanna. Someone thought it’d be a good idea for Kate Gosselin to host “The View.” And teenagers in Phoenix did some nasty things with tampons and alcohol.
At least Anna Wintour nailed her “Letterman” interview. (Yay, “The September Issue” is out tonight! Well, in New York, anyway.) After the jump, see what else happened this week on The Frisky! Keep reading »
It used to be that only Google’s YouTube users who “regularly produce videos that reach a wide audience” were able to make money from ad revenue sales on their videos. But now, Google is explanding its partnership program so those with one-hit wonders can cash in, too. If a video gets enough views, users automatically get a message saying, “Enable Revenue Sharing.” If you see this link, click on it to get a share of the revenue YouTube makes from selling ads on your video page. We hope this will be very good news for the couple who made “JK Wedding Entrance Dance,” which got over 10 million views but never made them a dime. And for the owner of that darn bulldog on a skateboard. [News AU] Keep reading »
While the U.S. version of Men’s Vogue folded a few months ago, it’s apparently still in international production. This photo of a male stripper/dominatrix/all-around stud serves as the cover boy for Japan’s version, but looks like it could just as easily be the cover of (also now defunct) Playgirl. It might make sense that Vogue Homme would be looking to sell to gay men, but something this steamy is certainly going to appeal to women too. (You have to admit, it is a bit hard not to stare.) If Vogue Homme is in fact attempting to market itself to women, we have to ask how they’d ever manage to tap the straight male audience—a men’s fashion magazine with a hot girl on the cover? Guess we buy those anyhow. [StyleFrizz.com] Keep reading »
We here at The Frisky live for celeb gossip, chocolate, and your comments. What can we say? You bitches crack us up! In honor of you, our smart, sexy, and incisive readers, who aren’t afraid to talk smack on the internet, we’re giving away prizes! Each week we’ll award you awesome chatty Cathys a little something special. This week, five winners will receive Hollywood Behind the Seams Pretty Underarm Protection. Without further adieu, the lucky winners of this week’s Gift For Gab. Keep reading »


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Ken Roycroft to join fast growing medical functional nutrition brand to accelerate growth
New York, NY July 18th, 2017 — MEND today announces that Ken Roycroft, a leading expert in integrative and regenerative medicine, will join the company as Director of Business Development.
Roycroft brings more than 30 years of experience in health and wellness, orthopedics, nutrition and regenerative medicine to the MEND team. He was most recently the founder of MDgenesis, a fast growing medical nutrition distribution company based in Orange County, California.
At MDgenesis, Roycroft successfully incorporated MEND into its suite of market leading evidence-based functional nutrition products, leading to adoption by numerous orthopedic surgeons and other medical practitioners.
“We’re thrilled to have a professional with the depth of Ken’s experience join our team”, says co-founder Whitney Stevens, “Ken’s passion and knowledge for nutrition and regenerative medicine are unmatched and we’re excited to have him join us to help accelerate our growth.”
Roycroft has had a lifelong passion for understanding the human body and specifically how proper nutrition can positively affect recovery and peak performance. He has been an internationally recognized leader in fitness, nutrition and wellness for over three decades.
Over the past five years, Ken has focused specifically in working directly with orthopedic surgery patients as the integrative healing advisor for a busy sports medicine practice and as an educator for other orthopedic surgeons in this field of study.
To date, he has positively impacted the lives of countless patients and clients through his knowledge and dedication to their well being.
“I discovered MEND through my research and was immediately drawn to their mission and quality of their science and products”, says Roycroft, “there isn’t another functional nutrition brand today that is better positioned in medicine and I’m excited to be joining the leadership team of this fast growing company.
MEND is an evidence-based functional nutrition company that is focused on developing medical nutrition products based on the latest science and research. The company’s award winning products are being increasingly utilized by the most demanding customers in medicine and professional sports.


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Poverty is still, and is somehow one of the most difficult problems people from all over the world is facing.
It seems that the rich will continue to be rich and the poor will still remain poor.
However, in Haiti, the state of poverty has somehow reached a very extreme level because Haitians even resort to eating cookies made from dirt in order to survive.
Haiti is a country where nearly 3 million people don’t have enough food to eat.
10% of the population of Haiti are considered the rich people, they earn almost 70% of the nation’s income but, most of the Haitians live only on $2 or $1 or less per day.
Hunger is becoming a serious issue. Many children, even adults suffer from malnutrition.
Nutritious foods such as fruits, vegetables, and other staples are often considered luxury items among many in Haiti.
In order to survive on a daily basis, some Haitians resorted to a generation old recipe of what they call “bon bon terres” or mud cookies which is made up of mixing salt, vegetable oil, and DIRT.
Celaine Denies, one of the women who make these cookies said, “When we haven’t eaten anything, this dirt cookie fills your stomach.”
The dirt is loaded in a truck from the mountains, and it is believed that they are rich in vitamins and minerals such as calcium.
The ladies, from the old to the young prepare these cookies.
They start with mixing the “batter” by combining dirt with water, the cookies are being formed on the ground, and is allowed to dry in the heat of the sun.
More surprisingly, in some parts of Haiti, selling these mud cookies is the main source of income.
“It’s a necessary evil,” said Denies. “I’m in a bad situation, and that’s why I make them. It hurts my heart, but I have no choice. We’re forced to eat it. It makes us sick, but not the way it would to anybody who’s not used to eating it.”
In truth, these cookies provide no nutritional value. They only increase the risk of malnutrition for the Haitians who eat them.
Experts say that eating mud cookies may have a negative effect on health, increasing the risk of tooth decay, soil-borne disease, malnutrition or worse.


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Darksiders Genesis is a massive change-up for the Darksiders series, placing players in control of Strife and War in a top-down setup. The game is set to release on December 5, 2019 for PC and Stadia, while the console version is set for February 14, 2020.
The September 2019 NPD data has been released, showing the top performing games and consoles for the month. NBA 2K20 took the lead spot on for the month, while The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is the bestselling game on Nintendo Switch.
Paradox Interactive has announced Stellaris: Galaxy Command, a mobile MMO based on the universe of Stellaris. Each player is tasked with managing a space station and fleet to forge alliances, trade and declare war if need be.


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PSA International Pte Ltd (PSA) has inked arrangements to purchase a 22 per cent minority investment in Duisburg Gateway Terminal GmbH (DGT).
The deal is subject to clearance by Germany’s competition and regulatory agencies.
When the purchase is completed, PSA will join Hupac, HTS, and duisport as shareholders in DGT.
DGT, located in the Port of Duisburg, is set to become the first climate-neutral inland container port in Europe’s hinterlands.
Markus Bangen, duisport CEO, stated: “We are pleased to have gained an important strategic partner for the DGT company in PSA, which will contribute significantly to the success of the Duisburg Gateway Terminal with its various business segments in Europe, Asia and worldwide.
“This net-work expansion strengthens both the competitive diversity and the further diversification of the Port of Duisburg. The topic of supply chain diversification has an increasingly important meaning.”
Tan Chong Meng, Group CEO of PSA, said: “We are excited to become a partner in Duisburg Gateway Terminal, alongside its existing shareholders duisport, Hupac and HTS.
“As part of Europe’s largest and most sustainable inland port, DGT will be a key gateway in providing green logistics services to Germany’s dense industrial hinter-land.
“Leveraging PSA’s global ports and supply chain network as well as a strong presence in continental Europe, PSA aims to strengthen the DGT partnership and support Germany’s green energy transition in line with our strategic focus towards enabling smoother, more resilient and sustainable trade.”


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New Mexico Girl Scouts have 22,000 excess boxes of cookies
[anvplayer video=”5018679″ station=”998127″]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.- The Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails have 22,000 boxes left over from their cookie sales, and they need to get rid of them soon.
The pandemic delivered a big punch to sales despite changing the way sales occurred.
"We moved everything over to a digital platform, which was a huge success," said Rebecca Latham, CEO of Girls Scouts of New Mexico Trails. "Lots of people ordering online, and then girl scouts would deliver those cookies too, contactless."
The cookie sale season ended March 21, and were left with thousands of additional boxes of cookies.
"That translates into about $100,000 in revenue that we can’t use to support our Girl Scout cookie camps," Latham said. "Money that we rely on for our operations and our scholarships."
Latham hopes they can partner with corporate sponsors that may want to donate the cookies to first responders.
However, people can still buy individual boxes at the Girl Scout offices at Jefferson and Osuna.


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SMITE RAmerica Skin Reveal
SMITE celebrates the upcoming Fourth of July holiday with the Ra Bald Eagle Skin, with an added bonus – money raised for the Red Cross.
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