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Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish has announced a round of layoffs for approximately 800 jobs, one day after trumpeting the ratings and revenue of Super Bowl 58. In Tuesday’s memo to employees, Bakish wrote that “returning our company to earnings growth is a top priority in 2024. This will require us to continue to grow revenue, while reducing costs.”
The news of layoffs comes right after Paramount celebrated its record-breaking ratings for broadcasting Super Bowl 58. This season’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers was reportedly the most-watched telecast in American broadcast history across CBS, Nickelodeon, Univision, Paramount+, and various digital platforms. In a memo Monday, Bakish praised the company’s sales team, who “exceeded all expectations.” The CEO gushed about how quickly the advertising inventory sold out. “We scored the largest gross ad revenue in the history of the Super Bowl,” Bakish wrote, emphasis his.
Despite this immensely lucrative NFL event, Paramount is stuck in a precarious spot. It feels the urgency to move away from traditional television, like other companies, but Paramount+ is unprofitable and second-rate to other streaming services, and the overall streaming division lost over $1 billion last year, according to the New York Times. The success of CBS and an unexpectedly strong third quarter in 2023 still wasn’t enough to generate whatever benchmark there was for desired profit and investor growth.
Paramount is scheduled to release a full 2023 financial report on Feb. 28. Beyond that, the future is uncertain, as controlling shareholder Shari Redstone has considered selling her stake in the company. But to get back to the present, it feels particularly absurd and gauche for a CEO to send a gushing email about how everyone worked together to bring in a record-breaking amount of money, right before announcing hundreds of layoffs because there needs to be more money. The largest gross ad revenue in the history of the Super Bowl must come as a comfort to those escorted out the door with their belongings.


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TALLAHASSEE — Floridians will be able to grow fruit and vegetables in their front yards without fear of local government fines under a bill passed by the Senate on Thursday.
The legislation was inspired by a court battle after Miami Shores told a homeowner to dig up a vegetable garden or face a $50-a-day fine. An appeals court upheld the ordinance.
Republican Sen. Rob Bradley said the city's front-yard garden ban is a "vast overreach," and that being able to grow your own food is a basic property right. Democratic Sen. Bobby Powell argued that it is an overreach to prohibit every local government from regulating gardens because of one local ordinance.
Bradley noted that there are so-called food deserts in many areas of the state where fresh fruit and vegetables aren't readily available.
"The world's changing when it comes to food. ... There's a big interest in locally sourced food, organic products and folks growing their own food," he said. "The idea that a government would intervene to prohibit someone from taking matters into their own hands and growing their own fresh fruits and vegetables to take care of their own family and their own nutritional needs, much like our forefathers have done, I think that is an action by local government that goes too far."
The bill passed on a 35-5 vote. All no votes were cast by Democrats, including, somewhat ironically, Sen. Gary Farmer.
Farmer said he lives in a Broward County city where there's a large iguana problem and unrestricted front-yard gardens could make it worse.
"Having a vegetable garden in a front yard would just attract more iguanas as well as rats and similar stuff," Farmer said after the vote.
He said local governments should be able to restrict the size and locations of homeowners' gardens.
A House version of the bill has been approved in the first of three committee stops.

domain: news


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COVID-19 caused much financial harm to many businesses around the world, and brought many businesses to the brink of collapse. It was also the breaking point for many companies that were not doing so well in the past few years. Strolling through the hallways of malls in New York City, one can see many stores with signs proclaiming huge inventory sales due to imminent store closings.
This widespread economic distress is prevalent throughout the brick and mortar retail industry. Many mammoth chain stores and corporations have already declared bankruptcy, and multiple others are in the process of filing. These include apparel companies, travel-related corporations such as airlines and car rental companies, restaurants, and businesses serving many other industries.
Almost every industry was hurt badly by COVID-19. There are at least two, however, that weren’t. Many of the businesses within these two industries provided people with assistance in ways no other company could.
One such industry is the healthcare industry. Most healthcare-related businesses were extremely hectic during these times. For instance, take AvaCare Medical, a US-based medical supplies company, and its sister company, Medical Scrubs Collection. Once COVID reared, things changed. These companies will never be the same again.
When questioned about how his companies fared during the pandemic, Steven Zeldes, CEO of the two aforementioned businesses, admits, “We had our challenges during this pandemic, just like every other company, but we realized we had to adapt quickly in order to service our customers properly.”
He adds, “We have become known for the care we show our customers. During this pandemic we showed how important it is for us to always show concern for our customers, even when times are difficult.”
During the days of Coronavirus, emails were appearing in employees’ inboxes by the thousands, company phones were ringing off the hook, and voicemails were pouring in fast and furious. Dedicated employees worked frantically from home to keep up with the impossible demand. They knew that they were providing important assistance to people who were desperate for it, and as devoted care reps who truly feel for their customers, they did what they could to help them.
AvaCare Medical mainly services seniors and individuals with health issues or disabilities, providing them with daily living aids, hospital beds, incontinence products, and other health essentials. They also offer a wide selection of mobility aids, including wheelchairs, walkers, and transport chairs. Since the team at AvaCare Medical is cognizant of the fact that they are supplying what is considered by many of their customers to be necessities, even during the height of Coronavirus, they kept on working. They care about their customers and didn’t want to let any of them down.
But at this point, they weren’t just getting orders from their longtime customers; their customer base had exploded like no one could ever have imagined. People who had never called before now contacting AvaCare Medical to order medical supplies. The company was so swamped that they had to hire a whole slew of additional workers to ensure that orders were being fulfilled and sent out efficiently.
Medical Scrubs Collection, a nursing uniform company servicing doctors and other healthcare professionals, experienced similar circumstances. Their total amount of daily orders more than tripled. Staying on top of their game was difficult, but they did whatever they could, because they knew they had an important role to play in assisting medical professionals who were sacrificing so much.
With this in mind, customer service members were working overtime, pushing out order after order, barely taking a moment to breathe. More employees were hired, so that the company could help as many healthcare professionals on the front lines as possible.
Now that COVID-19 is winding down in the tristate area, things still haven’t returned to normal at AvaCare Medical or Medical Scrubs Collection. The reason for this is that both these companies also fall into another category; a different industry that gained from the virus - the online industry.
During the height of the pandemic, brick and mortar stores were shuttered. People were afraid to venture outdoors. Instead, they ordered everything they needed online. They were forced to search for the product they needed within the confines of cyberspace. And once they found it, they had an easier time searching for it the second time.
Now that people have already figured out where to get certain products online, doing so has become habitual. It’s easier to simply place an online order than to go out to the store. So, even as retail stores are opening back up, ready and willing to welcome customers, many individuals aren’t going back to shopping in stores quite so fast. They’ve experienced the ease of online shopping, and they prefer it to the alternative.
Zeldes says he’s seen this firsthand at AvaCare Medical. “We’re still getting much more orders than we used to. I think it’s not only because many of our customers are scared to go out; I think it’s also because people have gotten used to shopping online. And I don’t think that’s going to change so fast.”
People are happy shopping at AvaCare Medical. The prices are reasonable, orders arrive within a day or two, and dealing with customer service is pleasant and smooth. These are just some reasons why people who placed one order on AvaCare Medical keep coming back.
The same goes for Medical Scrubs Collection - people have tried it and are satisfied with the ordering process at this online scrubs source. Medical Scrubs Collection boasts a modern website that is easy to navigate, is constantly running sales on their site, and has friendly, efficient customer service reps ready to help. And they have the cheapest prices on many nursing scrubs.
Essentially, if new customers were satisfied with the service they received from a company during the pandemic, they are likely to shop there again, even once normalcy is restored. This means that companies that gained new customers during the pandemic who were happy with how their order process went may have acquired customers that will stay with them for years.
Coronavirus has had effects that will linger on for decades. Ecommerce businesses have burgeoned to untold heights, while the businesses in the brick and mortar retail industry have totally collapsed. Healthcare companies are having their heyday, while many apparel stores and restaurants are bidding the world adieu. The business world is undergoing significant changes, and only time will tell when their effects will cease.


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A London judge declared Victoria’s Secret’s PINK brand and apparel chain confusing to customers of LVMH-owned shirting retailer Thomas Pink, reports Bloomberg.The UK-based luxury apparel retailer entered a trademark dispute with the lingerie mega brand after the shirtmaker declared the mutual use of the name “pink’’ too similar. Judge Colin Birss said Victoria’s Secret’s usage of the name PINK for “sexy, mass-market appeal’’ infringes trademark rights and notes, “For example consumers are likely to enter one of the claimant’s shops looking for lingerie and be surprised and disappointed when they find they have made a mistake.’’
Thomas Pink claimed “several customers had tried to return Victoria’s Secrets good in its stores and that some had asked to buy Pink goods, only to be surprised to learn that the shirtmaker did not stock lingerie,’’ reports the Telegraph. Both retailers feature signage that stylizes the name “PINK’’ in all capital letters and serif fonts.
Victoria’s Secret’s argument against the claim stated that they targeted a different demographic who would not also shop at Thomas Pink stores. Which is fair, we suppose. But as the company is set to increase apparel production in the denim and athletic attire categories, according to Business of Fashion, and already sells clothing-like items such as this “Bling Muscle Tank,’’ we can’t really heed their argument.


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Amadeus will continue to power KAYAK's online shopping experience with a new suite of tools and technology.
As consumer and business travel interest continue to ramp up, travelers will seek out quick and easy ways to compare all of their travel options in one place, making access to fast, high quality search results more important than ever. That's why today, KAYAK and Amadeus are renewing and expanding their IT agreement, continuing the companies' long-standing partnership and expanding its use of the Amadeus MetaConnect suite.
Offering a suite of travel solutions that delivers instant search results, Amadeus flight search technology will continue to power KAYAK's ability to process billions of queries across its platforms every year making it easier to discover and compare low prices and flexible fares in one quick search.
In addition to the companies working together to deliver quick and easy flight comparison shopping, the renewed partnership accelerates the adoption of Amadeus' MetaConnect suite. With Amadeus MetaConnect, KAYAK also can create a streamlined search and assisted-booking flow for a top-quality user experience with higher conversion rates for airline.com partners.
"Through our expanded agreement with Amadeus, we can continue innovating and testing new features without it impacting our users or our airline partners for an overall improved flight search experience," said Ko Baryiames, KAYAK's Chief Technology Officer. "As we head into the busy holiday travel season, traveler confidence is critical. Our goal is to continue delivering an excellent online shopping experience to our users by making the search and booking experience as easy as possible."
"KAYAK has been a key driver of our search innovation for many years, and we are thrilled to extend our partnership. It is more important than ever for travel leaders like KAYAK and Amadeus to collaborate together to rebuild travel," said Angel Gallego, Executive Vice President, Travel Distribution, Amadeus. "Metasearch engines are instrumental in making travel accessible to all, and we will continue to push the envelope of creating the most powerful technology solutions that puts travel right at people's fingertips."
Amadeus IT Group SA published this content on 21 October 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 21 October 2021 12:33:09 UTC.


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Diversity is trending. Within the fashion industry, participants constantly mirror each other, creating more sameness than uniqueness in an industry that calls itself creative. However, in more recent years, there’s been a positive societal shift in not only the presence, but also the celebration of idiosyncratic beauty. Today, CNN has a beautiful feature on Chantelle […]
Over time, I’ve always heard conflicting stereotypes: either that the older a person is, the more their senses are deteriorated OR the more a person ages, the wiser and more intelligent decisions they are able to make. Both have grains of truth in them, yet the real answer comes from a study that AOL News […]
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Kuwait to get first gastro burger restaurant
Outlet interior design inspired by the layering of a burger, bun & veg
The Epicure Group, the food and beverage arm of The Sultan Group, has announced plans to open Kuwait’s first gastro burger restaurant in a bid to make it stand out in a saturated market.
The firm has teamed up with Thomas Klein International (TKI), Dubai-based restaurant consultant, and Chicago-based architect PS Studio to create the interior design plans for the restaurant, which will open in Al Bidaa in December 2011.
“Our role was to create a recognisable interior that will elevate the concept of a burger outlet to cutting-edge sophistication,” explained Daniel During, principal and managing director of TKI.
The interior design concept for the restaurant, the name of which will be revealed soon, is derived from the layering of the food - the hamburger, its bun, and the vegetables and sauces in between. Plywood, constructed of different layers of wood laminated together, was chosen as the main material in the interior design of this establishment to signify the various layers of the burger.
“We found that plywood is the ideal material to convey the concept and to bring the idea to life, as the layered wood palette allows for variety through colour and texture and can be processed beautifully,” said During.
“Eating burgers should be an enjoyable experience, and therefore we decided that all the outlet’s finishes should be fun – with bright orange rubber floors, white and lemongrass walls, and highly visible graphics. The colourful logo will also be featured on the show kitchen wall to further strengthen the branding.”


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Leader in the spotlight: D ShivakumarThursday, December 19, 2013
D. Shivakumar, chairman and chief executive officer, India region, PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt. Ltd
WHY: After a five-month interval, Shivakumar is staging a strong re-entry. He had worked at Nokia for close to eight years as its head for India, West Asia and Africa and saw the Finnish handset maker’s marketshare rise to 75% in India and then drop to 40% amid intense competition. He joined PepsiCo ealier this month.
BACKGROUND: Shivakumar’s appointment as PepsiCo India head comes barely a month after its parent decided to spend Rs.33,000 crore in the country by 2020 to double production capacity and develop infrastructure. Shivakumar will oversee all aspects of PepsiCo’s India region, as well as NourishCo, a joint venture with Tata Global Beverages Ltd, and the franchise businesses in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. He will be responsible for deploying the Rs.33,000 crore investment. PepsiCo has 38 bottling plants in India and three food factories.
EXPERIENCE: Shivakumar has worked across consumer-facing businesses, having spent 14 years at Hindustan Unilever Ltd, where he expanded the Lipton tea brand, and three years at Philips Consumer Electronics India, doubling the company’s revenue over that period.
CHALLENGE: Similar to Nokia, India is an important market for PepsiCo, figuring in its list of top 10 nations. PepsiCo has announced big investment plans in India amid a slowing economy. The investment plans were disclosed by PepsiCo chief executive Indra Nooyi. The challenge for Shivakumar is to expand into rural areas to make its Rs.33,000 crore investment profitable.


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Just when you thought our entire globe had relegated itself to Netflix binge watching and TikTok karaoke, I have refreshing news: People are ordering books.
That’s right – actual books that have covers and pages and smell like books! “I can’t say that we’re seeing as many sales as we do with our actual doors open, but it’s been great to see so many book readers come out of the woodwork these last few weeks,” said Laguna Beach Books General Manager Lisa Childers.
Each day, Childers devotes several hours in her “home office” (formerly the dining room table) to answer questions, offer suggestions and fulfill orders from the many online purchases at the store’s website, LagunaBeachBooks.com.
“We decided against doing pick up of orders at the store, so we’re doing shipping from our warehouse direct to people’s homes. It’s almost as fast and much more efficient all around,” she said.
Escapism Is Real
Childers noted that reading tastes over the last few weeks have pivoted more toward “escapism,” imagine that. Current big sellers include Where the Crawdad Sings by Delia Owens and Mark Christie’s book, Greenwood.
“Greenwood is one of the best books I’ve ever read,” said Childers, who devours books on a daily and weekly basis like the rest of us devour bags of Fritos these days.
“It’s a timely book, too. It’s set in 2038 after a pandemic has come through and killed all the trees except for a stand of trees on one island,” she noted. “It’s sort of a ‘where do we go from here?’ book that requires a new community of solution-based thinking.”
Four Big Releases Happen Today
Today (Tuesday, April 21st), four highly anticipated books are being released, and Childers noted that pre-orders have been significant.
All best-selling authors, the publisher releases include Janelle Brown’s new Pretty Things; Stephen King’s If It Bleeds, a collection of four novellas; David Baldacci’s Walk The Wire, with the return of the FBI Consultant Amos Decker in the popular series; and A Moment of Tenderness, a series of never-before-published short stories from Madeline L’engle.
Childers noted that Laguna Beach Books still has plenty of stock of each new release.
New Virtual Events Feature Best-Selling Authors
Thanks to a world forced into virtual events of late, Laguna Beach Books has also found a way to continue its popular in-store Author Events with newly scheduled Zoom events.
The store’s new Virtual Author Event format has allowed the bookstore to reach out to globally known authors who might not have otherwise planned for Laguna Beach on their book tours. The events are just one hour in length, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
On Friday, May 1st, best-selling author Janelle Brown will be discussing her newest release, Pretty Things, with Laguna Beach local and fellow author Kaira Rouda.
And, on Friday, May 15th, best-selling author (and a fellow independent bookstore owner) Louse Erdich will be discussing her latest novel, The Night Watchman, a fictionalized story of the extraordinary life of her grandfather who fought for Native Americans’ rights during Congress’ “emancipation bill” in the 1950s.
Register for Virtual Author Events at the Website
“People aren’t required to purchase the books to be a part of any of the Virtual Author Events, but they do need to register for access to the Zoom call,” said Childers.
“We’re just so pleased with all the support we’ve seen from our readers that we wanted to try to do something nice for our community in return. It’s opened up a whole new world of authors to all of us.”
Go to LagunaBeachBooks.com to register for the Author Events and browse for your next good read.


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Uber-SoftBank Deal in Jeopardy Over Spat About Kalanick's Role
Continue Reading Below
Uber's effort to close a multibillion-dollar investment by SoftBank is in danger of derailing as co-founder Travis Kalanick tussles with fellow board members over the limits of his power at the ride-hailing giant, people familiar with the matter said.
Facebook Profit Jumps 79%
Facebook said third-quarter profit jumped 79% on its continued dominance in online advertising, as the social media giant's aggressive pursuit of growth drew scrutiny Wednesday from lawmakers investigating alleged Russian propagandists' activity on Facebook.
Auto Sales Continued Hot Streak in October
The auto industry's hot streak continued in October with most high-volume car companies posting strong U.S. sales performances, setting the stage for a strong finish in 2017.
Continue Reading Below
Tesla Posts Loss, Boosting Pressure to Speed Output of Model 3
Tesla warned it will take months longer than expected to reach its goal of making 5,000 Model 3 sedans a week, a significant delay that could will put additional pressure on CEO Elon Musk's limited cash pile.
GE Shows How 'Black Box' Assets Boost Profits
GE lifted the veil on accounting that analysts have said was too opaque, spotlighting how changes in one group of its assets help to lift profits.
Two More Senior Executives to Exit From Under Armour
Under Armour is shedding more of its senior leadership, including its chief marketing officer and the head of its women's business, as the sportswear company continues to grapple with declining sales.
Qualcomm Profit Slides as Royalty Dispute Continues
Qualcomm's quarterly profit plunged 89%, crippled by a $778 million charge related to a fine by Taiwanese regulators and Apple Inc.'s continued withholding of patent royalties on iPhones and iPads.
Kraft Heinz Sales Rise on Growth Outside U.S.
Kraft Heinz Co. reported higher sales in the latest period, breaking a string of declines, and the company projected growth will carry into the current quarter.
MetLife Swings to Loss on Brighthouse Charges
Hurricanes reduced the third-quarter results of big insurers MeLife and Allstate with their large homeowner and car-insurance businesses, while the rallying stock market helped life insurers industrywide with products tied to market returns.
SEC Letter to Guggenheim Questions Disclosure of African Banking Investment
Guggenheim Partners received a July letter from U.S. regulators that raised concerns about its relationship with companies connected to former Barclays Chief Executive Bob Diamond.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 01, 2017 19:15 ET (23:15 GMT)


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>> ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL —For the Spring 2009 season, Ryan McGinley did a little ad work — both in front of and behind the camera. He took Angela Lindvall and Kate Moss down to Puerto Rico to produce Stella McCartney's watercolor-infused campaign, and then posed for Marc Jacobs lensmen Juergen Teller in a bathtub, shoe propped on his knee, as the label's Spring 2009 face (click through for image). [Models.com]
The Spring 09 Marc Jacobs ad campaign, shot once again by Juergen Teller, will feature model Raquel Zimmerman for Women's, socialite and model Daisy Lowe for Marc by Marc Jacobs, and artist Ryan McGinley (left) for Men's. Perfectly cast if you ask us.
Forever 21 is building a new space in Times Square which will span 100,000 square feet; an unimaginable amount of space by New York standards. The store will replace Tower Records although the slated opening date has yet to be announced.
Young socialite Peaches Geldof designed a capsule collection for PPQ and our Network Partner, Catwalk Queen, was one of the first to break the news. The collection is getting mixed reviews from the hipsters in New York which shouldn't really matter save for the fact that Peaches lives in Williamsburg.
Just in case you missed it, The International Herlad Tribune wrote a nice piece on the matter of "Price On Request" and the common myths surrounding the expression. Namely, the one that goes--if you have to ask, you can't afford it.
>> Last week, Philip Green credited Topshop's record profits to Kate Moss's "Kate effect" — "we have been good for her and she has been good for us" — and she proved him right. Her holiday Topshop collection, which launched today, is already selling out: The panther dress she wore to Vivienne Westwood sold out on Topshop.com within an hour, and the triangle dress she wore out last month is mostly gone, too.
Now that she's had eight successful lines, maybe Sir Philip will let Kate do a men's range for Topshop like she wants? He hasn't ruled out the possibility, but has neglected to grant her wish so far: "She's asked me to do a men's range. She said: 'Come on.' And I said: 'Let's stick to what we're doing.'"
Regardless of how Topshop goes, Kate's still got her modeling — she was apparently in Puerto Rico last week with three other models, including Angela Lindvall, shooting with Ryan McGinley for Stella McCartney's Spring 2009 campaign, making it her second stint in a row for the brand.
>> INSIDER WIRE —Models come come out of photoshoots with clothes, a paycheck . . . or worst case, nothing. But when they work with Ryan McGinley, they're at least guaranteed one thing — a necklace, just like his own, with a gold pendant that reads "Let's get naked." "I give them to all my models after they are done modeling for me . . . and it has my name written on script in the back." [Word Up!]
>> May brought us paparazzi shots of Agyness Deyn jumping nude off a Manhattan fire escape for Ryan McGinley, and September finally brings us the final product: "Feeling Falling," styled by Katie Grand for POP Fall 2008. Agyness appears more clothed than those pap shots would have you think, but they're pretty amazing, especially considering that she was falling five stories into a crash mat.
Full gallery (NSFW) below.
>> IN THE LOOKING GLASS —POP's Fall 2008 issue has six fantastic theological covers, but what I'm really looking forward to are the innards, especially the editorial Ryan McGinley shot of Agyness Deyn jumping from a fire escape nude. Here's your first look, and surprisingly — Agyness is clothed. If that doesn't please you, there's also an interview with The Muppets's Swedish Chef . . . [SansArtifice, Starworks NY]
>> IN THE LOOKING GLASS — While we still don't know which model graces the September 2008 cover of Vogue Paris, we do have what's rumored to be a peek inside: Raquel Zimmermann, snapped by Ryan McGinley. Everything seems copacetic — the photog, the model — until you get to the shot with Raquel wearing bright orange Crocs. Hmmm. [Gold Digger, Gold Digger]
>> Ryan McGinley may have just earned a starring role in the Fall 2008 Gap campaign, but it's a set of ads he photographed that is wagging tongues right now.
The campaign is for Wrangler, and captures girls and guys wearing nothing but jeans, acting one with nature under the theme "We Are Animals." So far, it sounds pretty textbook McGinley — unclothed young things, cavorting around fields and streams — but the issue comes from two specific images, which to some suggest "highly disturbing" "murdered corpses."
Seems Ryan is well on his way to being the more-in-tune-with-nature version of Terry Richardson. In fact, considering that this campaign is running in France, don't be surpised if it garners him a Vogue Paris editorial or two — this pushing of the envelope seems right up Carine's alley.
>> Although Gap is having a little trouble these days —the brand just cut their entire European design team and were overtaken by Zara as the world's biggest retailer — all bets are still on executive VP of design Patrick Robinson, whose first full Gap collection debuts this Fall. It is he who chose the likes of Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, Georgina Chapman, Cecilia Dean, and Scott Schuman to front Gap's Fall 2008 campaign, proving he really is trying to bring fashion back to the company.
Can Mikael Jansson's shots of those four, Ryan McGinley, Karlie Kloss, Sean Avery, Jourdan Dunn, and more, plus Patrick's new designs, make the difference for Gap? Only time will tell, but until then, enjoy the rest of the Fall campaign.
>> Almost exactly one year ago, Gap launched its Fall 2007 European campaign, featuring fashion figues like Pierre Hardy, Amanda Harlech, Coco Rocha and Elettra Rossellini Weidemann shot by Mikael Jansson. The ads must have been a success, because rather than going with the high-wattage stars stateside Gap campaigns usually feature, the black-and-white, fashion-figure concept has been lifted for the Fall 2008 American campaign.
Shots of a smiling Cecilia Dean, a pouting Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, and a coy Georgina Chapman are sprinkled among those of Clemence Poesy, Maryna Linchuk, actress Catalina Sandino Moreno, Chanel Iman, and Lily Donaldson (plus Liv Tyler, apparently star wattage couldn't be totally nixed). More shots are still to come — including those of Scott Schuman and Ryan McGinley.


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Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Newegg, Indiegogo Team On Crowdfunding Effort
Los Angeles-based online electronics retailer Newegg and project crowdfunding site Indiegogo said this morning that the two are in a collaboration, where they will help successfully funded, crowdfunding campaigns to sell and deliver their products. The two said that Newegg will provide access to the retail market for Indiegogo campaigners, and will provide distribution and fulfillment services to those projects. The two said that Newegg and Indiegogo will jointly identify some of the most promising and innovative campaigns that have reached their funding goals, with Newegg helping with go-to-market, including marketing assistance, mercdhandising, social media, shipping and sales of products. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.


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A few months ago we launched a new service for our clients – SSL certificate for free.
Since around a month ago on the Internet is also the website of our new client.
Our hosting centre has some new stuff. The new Fujitsu server rack will store our servers and other network equipment. Also there will be the new Fujitsu Siemens Primergy RX 300 server and Fujitsu Siemens Fibrecat sx80 storage array. The new Eaton Evolution S3000 UPS will protect the equipment from…
We are happy to announce that our new servers are now working! From a few days ago our new professional Hewlett Packard Proliant servers are working for our hosting services.


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By VR & AR Fair Committee
China Actively Exploring the Possibility of VR-based Education
“The Milky Way is right above my head! And look, there is the Earth and a satellite,” exclaimed a boy in a primary school of Nanjing, China. This excited little boy was actually having a VR-based lesson, studying the Solar System. However, this is not the first time China explores the possibility of VR technology in education.
For example, earlier in 2016, LeVR, which has long declared its ambition in education, chose New Oriental Education & Technology Group as its partner to co-develop VR-based lessons. Now you can gain access to their English lessons in the form of 360° VR video on Letv app. What’s more, Beijing Normal University this December took initiative to cooperate with Beijing Film Academy and other VR professionals in order to build a virtual practice platform for their students. Moreover, VR-based lessons have been introduced to some state schools of Beijing, Qingdao, Haikou, etc, yielding enthusiastic responses from students , teachers and parents.
VR-based Education to Be a Global Trend
Even though the examples above are taken from China, this trend is global. According to the analysis of Goldman Sachs, VR and AR have great potentials to start a revolution in traditional education. A survey suggests that by 2025, the worldwide potential users of VR-based education will reach 15 million and the market scale of VR-based education will be up to 700 million dollars. In addition, according to a survey conducted by Samsung among over 1,000 U.S. K-12 teachers, 85% respondents agree that VR would have a positive effect on their students.
China, a Promising Market for VR-based Education
The potentials of VR-based education are unlimited, especially in this age of knowledge. According to Edtech Europe, the global expense on education is now growing by 8% annually (the yearly growth rate of global GDP is 4%), and predicted to reach 8,100 billion USD. It has also been pointed out in their survey that Asia is the region with the highest growth rate of 20% and will take up about 54% share of global education technology market. And China is expected to be at the epicenter of this growth.
In order to give a head start to their children in study, Chinese parents are now generously paying for quality after-school education. Statistics suggest that by 2015, the scale of China’s supplementary education market has exceed 882 billion RMB. Edtech Europe has also forecast that by 2020 the educational expense of Chinese households will be 6 times more than now.
Besides, the Chinese government has as well attached great importance to education for the next generation. In 2015, the fiscal expenditure on education in China totaled 2,922.145 billion RMB, up by 10.6% compared with 2014. Therefore, it is very possible for the Chinese government to financially supports state schools to purchase VR equipment.
AR & AR Fair 2017 Helps You Explore Asian VR-based Education Market!
If you also want to enter this blue ocean of VR/AR-based education, please come to Asia VR & AR Fair & Summit 2017 (AR & AR Fair 2017) and find your business partner! Gathering not only the world’s top VR/AR equipment and content suppliers, the show will also be attended by insiders of various fields, including education, real state, game and amusement, etc, looking for opportunities of business cooperation.
If you want to register as our exhibitor or visitor, or to know more about our show, please feel free to contact us!
2018 Asia VR & AR Fair & Summit (AR & AR Fair 2018)
Date: March 8th-11th, 2017
Venue: China Import and Export Fair Complex
Contact Person: Aileen Chen
Fax: +86- 20-82579220


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Brit women soon may have to give up wearing high heels, for the national trade union centre in the UK has called for a ban on the much loved footwear from work, insisting that they're dangerous for the ladies. It has been claimed that that the Trace Union Council (TUC) has criticized bosses who order girls to wear stilettos.
The move comes after a study linked the footwear to back pain.
"These dress codes - apart from being sexist - can lead to foot and back problems," The Sun quoted General Secretary Brendan Barber, as saying.
"Staff should wear comfortable shoes," Barber added.


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Billionaire businessman and CEO of Serum Institute of India Adar Poonawalla is known for his love for luxury cars. He has an impressive collection of expensive cars, which includes some of the premier models from the world’s top car makers like Ferrari, Rolls Royce and Bentley. In fact his fleet of luxury cars can make any car enthusiast envious. Just a few days ago, Poonawalla was spotted in his Bentley Bentayga EWB on the roads of Mumbai.
Also Read: Bentley Bentayga EWB Launched, Priced at a Staggering Rs 6 Crore in India
The intriguing video of Poonawalla’s Bentley Bentayga EWB was shared by CS 12 VLOGS on YouTube. Adar Poonawalla was spotted in his uber-cool blue colour Bentley Bentayga at the premiere of Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan.
Bentley launched the Bentayga extended wheelbase in India last month. The British luxury carmaker has priced the Bentayga EWB at a starting range of Rs 6 crore (ex-showroom, Delhi). Bentayga EWB is the marque’s new flagship model and is also available in two enhanced specifications – Azure and First Edition.
The New Bentayga EWB offers quintessential luxury SUV experience as it combines the legroom of a limousine with the elevated ride height of an SUV. Bentley Bentayga EWB rivals the likes of Rolls-Royce Cullinan, Mercedes-Maybach GLS and the higher-spec Range Rover LWB in India.
In addition to Bentayga EWB, Adar Poonawalla also owns a Porsche Cayenne, BMW 7 Series, Mercedes-Benz S600, Bentley Continental Flying Spur, Ferrari 360 Spyder and a Rolls-Royce Phantom.
The Bentayga EWB is aimed at the chauffeur-driven clientele. All the added space is concentrated for the rear-seat passenger compartment. Buyers can choose between three seat layouts - 4-seat, 5-seat layouts and a new ‘4+1’ option.
Unlike the standard Bentayga, a seven-seat option is not available with the Bentayga EWB. Bentayga EWB’s luxurious cabin comes with myriad of comfort features like audiophile-quality Naim for Bentley sound system, beautiful waterfall lighting and zoned heating and ventilation. The Bentayga EWB, in its Airline Seat specification, boasts of a futuristic climate seat that senses an occupant’s body temperature, and adjusts the ambient temperature and airflow accordingly.
This is not the first time Poonawalla has been spotted driving his luxury cars on Mumbai roads. In September 2022 a video of Poonawalla’s Rolls Royce Phantom VIII in Mumbai also emerged on social media. In the video shared on YouTube channel CS12, it was claimed that Poonawalla was inside the silver-coloured Rolls Royce Phantom VIII, though he could not be seen in the clip.
Read all the Latest Auto News here


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05 March, Il Sole 24 Ore
Good news for the Italian real estate, at least for what concerns big investments: offices, shopping centres and logistics in the country still attract and will continue to attract expert investors. The changes at a system level, starting from interest rates, don’t scare international investors and Europe on the overall hasn’t lost its appeal.
The quarterly survey Global Commercial Property Monitor by Rics measures the sentiment of investors and occupiers in commercial real estate. The survey confirms the overall optimism of the property markets analysed in the survey for the fourth quarter of 2017. In fact, the Occupier Sentiment Index created by Rics is positive for 28 of the 34 surveyed countries, while the Investment Sentiment Index is positive for 27 of them. 1,600 companies from all over the world took part in the survey.
Europe is still brilliant
Despite the changes in the monetary policy going on in Europe, Berlin, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Madrid confirm to be the most attractive marketplaces for investors as well as for tenants, according to Rics. However, there is an emerging trend addressing smaller markets of central and eastern Europe, with positive results in Sofia, Budapest and Prague.
The Eurozone is living one of its best moments after the financial crisis. Once again, the markets reported in the last quarter of 2017 the best performance concerning Investment Sentiment and Occupier Sentiment, showing a positive outlook for 2018.
If anything, the only issue is the lack of offer in quality properties, for instance in the office segment, where the rate of vacant spaces is at its lowest point since 2008. This plays a fundamental role in keeping prices high, and it may explain the relatively optimistic outlook, despite the possible change of direction in the monetary politics of the ECB this year.
The Italian race
“The positive outlook already registered in 2017 is also confirmed for 2018 – explains Daniele Levi Formiggini from Rics Italia – Compared to the previous quarter, the Italian market has grown in terms of investment sentiment as well as of occupier sentiment. Milan is still the most attractive marketplace for international investors, and prime retail is the segment with the greatest growth potential”.
Italy has registered a consistent increase in new properties available in the office and retail segments, even though only this last one has a bigger quantity of properties on offer. Compared to the third quarter, the growth potential of rents has grown in all the segments, while it’s negative only for secondary industrial properties. More in detail, in last quarter of 2017 the Investment Sentiment Index has grown by 13% compared to 2016, and the demand for investments continues to concern the retail and office segments, while it’s unchanged for industrial assets. Concerning this segment, however, there is a growing interest from international investors, according to Rics. “The people interviewed forecast that all the prime assets will report significant earnings on the capital value over 2018”, reads the Rics survey.
Milan still at the top
Milan remains the most interesting marketplace in Italy and most of the surveyed believe that the Italian market is still at the initial or intermediate stage of its growth. Moreover, 89% of the interviewed thinks that prices on the Italian market are equal or lower their fair value. What about the future? The forecast for the next 12 months speaks about a positive trend in the prime segments in terms of growth potential as well as of expected value growth for transactions and rents, while both indicators are still for the secondary markets.
The impact of Brexit
Despite the recent reports speak about fewer job losses than initially expected consequently to the decision of UK to leave the EU, the surveyed are still reporting consistently inquiries regarding properties available by British companies. These inquiries mostly concern Amsterdam, followed by Warsaw, Dublin, Paris, and Frankfurt. At the same time, nearly one-quarter of the London-based interviewed declared to be contacted by international companies planning to transfer their business in the UK. London is still an interesting marketplace for investors, despite being perceived as expensive according to the main parameters of the analysis.
Source: Il Sole 24 Ore
Translator: Cristina Ambrosi


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OVATO IN ADMIN – EOI BY FRI, OFFERS IN 2 WEEKS
The Ovato administrator is wasting no time in seeking a sale for the stricken print giant, calling for expressions of interest to be submitted by this Friday, 29 July.
The administrator, FTI Consulting, has said it will then open the data room the next day, Friday 29 July, subject to confidentiality agreements being signed.
It will then request binding offers to be in two weeks later, by Thursday 11 August. FTI is aiming to sell the business as a whole entity, but has also said it is open to offers to parts of it.
Potential buyers for Ovato include rival IVE, as well as part-owner and biggest customer, magazine publisher Are Media's owner Mercury Capital, which also majority owns Blue Star Group in New Zealand. Recent investor, the cash-rich Opus Group owner Hong Kong based Left Field Print Group, cannot be discounted. In addition there will be plenty of private equity funds looking at a business that has long term contracts, and for which they will be able to shed the “legacy cost issues”, code for the existing employment contracts that Ovato cited as one of the primary reasons it became unsustainable.
The first creditors meeting will likely take place next week, although the exact day has not yet been decided.
Ovato now comprises the Australian heatset business with plants in NSW, WA and Qld, a packaging operation based out of Brisbane, a commercial printer in Cairns, and an Auckland based sheetfed business. The Australian business generated sales of $123m in the first half of this year, down by a third on the previous year, the decrease mostly due to the sale of its marketing and distribution businesses, but its heatset activity took a 9 per cent hit. The New Zealand business achieved $33m of revenue, but most of that will have been from the now defunct heatset operation.
Ovato was placed into voluntary administration by the directors on Thursday, following losses that have totalled $430m over the past five years, and despite a restructure 18 months ago that saw $40m injected into the business, a quarter of the 1200 staff made redundant as the company closed its Victorian manufacturing site in Clayton, and suppliers asked to take a 50 per cent cut in outstanding invoices.
Since the restructure the directors have been working non-stop to narrow the business; they sold the former Gordon & Gotch retail distribution business, sold what was the Griffin Press book manufacturing plant in Adelaide, closed the New Zealand heatset operation completely, and spun out all the associated digital and marketing businesses. The company’s Brisbane site was also sold off, although that was owned by the Hannans and not Ovato.
However, all the action ultimately proved unsuccessful, and with both its catalogues business, which is 60 per cent of revenue, and magazines, which is 25 per cent, showing no great signs of improvement, the directors pulled the pin.
First creditors meeting is slated for early August, likely after any binding offers have been received. If no acceptable offers are received the adminstrators will look at the next steps, which include breaking up the company into parts, or liquidation.


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This is the merriest period of the year, when many new devices are leaked and announced. A new Sony device leaked today, which makes it the latest leak to date. It was spotted on GLBenchmark‘s website, and is now known as Sony C2105. According to the benchmark data, the device will run on Android 4.1.1 Jellybean, and will sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus dual-core processor clocked at 1GHz. It will feature a WVGA display and on-screen controls, which makes for a usable screen space of 791×480 pixels. The graphics card found in this smartphone is Adreno 305, which offers quite good performance.
We expect Sony to announce the smartphone in the coming weeks/months. It should be a mid-range device, so it should be mildly-priced. If Sony gives a good bang for the buck, it will have an impact on the current mid-range market dominators.


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Trustwave Internet of Things Security. The AI revolution is coming fast. But without a revolution in trust, it will fail. The past 30 years have seen incredible growth and innovation in the tech industry.
We’ve gone from pocket calculators and PCs to pocket computers more powerful than the mammoth mainframe computers of the 1980s. The Atari 800XL computer I used in high school to develop games was powered by a microprocessor with 3,500 transistors – the one running my iPhone today has 2 billion transistors. The cost of a gigabyte of storage was in the range of $100,000 and the size of a refrigerator. Today, it’s basically free and size is measured in millimetres. This is incredible progress, and today the pace of technology change is moving even faster. The next tech revolution: AI Every generation or so, a number of emerging technologies converge, and something revolutionary occurs.
Following Einstein’s dictum – the definition of genius is taking the complex and making it simple – AI is about reducing complexity and embedding machine intelligence in many aspects of our lives. We need a trust revolution. Data management in sensor networks using semantic web technologies. A.
Zafeiropoulos, D.E. Spanos, S. Arkoulis et al.100the power consumed for taking a sample or performing a trivial aggregationoperation ). A Great Week for the Internet of Things. In the first week of December 2015 we concluded another successful Internet of Things World Forum (IoTWF).
More than two-thousand industry professionals gathered in Dubai for the 3rd annual event to showcase, discuss, and advance the world of IoT. Cisco hosted the event, which was supported by a group of incredible companies with mind boggling experience, focus and innovation in the IoT. Global powerhouses like Intel, Rockwell Automation, General Electric, Du, 3M, IBM, Schneider Electric, Etisalat, Panduit, and Siemens spent three full days with established innovators, software companies and integrators, as well as with entrepreneurial startups that will change the face of the IoT forever. To this end, Cisco announced the three finalists of its Innovation Grand Challenge during the closing proceeding at the IoT World Forum… More than three-thousand submissions were received for Cisco’s Innovation Grand Challenge this year.
But the great week for the IoT didn’t end there… Like this: A Great Week for the Internet of Things. Let’s make smart cities cyber-safe. The Internet of Things Changes the Company-Customer Relationship. With the rise of the internet of things, our individual technology envelopes – our personal networks of smart, connected devices — are rapidly becoming more complicated as more and more devices from a growing profusion of vendors do ever more complex jobs.
In fact, industry research indicates that the number of devices in these envelopes will triple over the next few years, and, absent a common set of standards, the complexity of these envelopes will only compound. This dynamic is exacerbated by product companies’ historical service paradigm. It used to be that most of the value we derived from our devices was the result of direct physical interaction: For example, we turned a key in a door look, flipped a light switch, or twisted the dial on a thermostat.
Now, however, our interaction with devices is profoundly changing – they are becoming more like interconnected services than products. Some firms may look at this situation and see operational headaches and increased service costs. Empower consumers to control their privacy in the Internet of Everything. As an Eisenhower Fellow, Dr.
David A. Bray had the opportunity to travel to Taiwan and Australia in a personal capacity to discuss the burgeoning privacy and security challenges that the Internet of Everything era presents. Throughout his meetings, everyone asked: who is responsible for ensuring security? Answering as an Eisenhower Fellow in a personal capacity, Bray was always quick to answer: Everyone is. The role of CIO in the Internet of Everything – Chief Strategy Officer? In Part 1 of The Enterprisers Project interview with Dr.
David A. Bray, an Eisenhower Fellow who recently traveled to Taiwan and Australia to discuss the Internet of Everything with industry and government leaders, Dr. Bray discussed how a hyper-connected, Internet-enabled future may impact the role of both the CIO and the CEO. While his 2015 travels abroad as an Eisenhower Fellow were in a personal capacity only, Dr. Bray is also chief information officer for the U.S.
The Enterprisers Project (TEP): When can CIOs and CEOs expect the Internet of Everything to impact their organizations? Dr. CIOs and CEOs must open their eyes to the reality that organizational boundaries are beginning to fade as well, as each employee comes to work with their own various connected devices strapped to their wrists, clipped to their shoes, or – in the near future – even embedded into their bodies. TEP: How can CIOs be leaders in this transformation? Dr. Are You Ready for the Internet of Things? By Chris Carroll The “Internet of Things” can be loosely defined as the move from isolated devices to Internet-enabled platforms that can communicate with each other and the cloud.
IoT is a major worldwide trend that will impact CIOs over time; do you need to prepare for it? According to Intel’s Inside IoT blog, ABI Research believes that 30 billion IoT devices will be sold by 2020, and Cisco thinks that more than 50 billion devices will be connected by then. That comes to over seven devices for every person the U.N. forecasts to be alive at that time. Intel predicts that there will be 3.8 billion IoT devices on the market by next year. Enterprise IoT deployments tend to start small, but the tremendous potential gains can lead to rapid deployments. CIOs will also face unplanned capital costs when pressured both to deploy IoT devices to replace existing platforms as well as intelligent gateways to connect legacy devices to the Internet.


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A provision shop owner in Johnsonville, outside Monrovia, left in total distress and teary mood on Monday morning when fire gutted the shop and completely destroyed goods, money, and other personal belongings worth over US$10,000.
The shop known as “Prince Booth” is owned and operated by Menker Cewhy Kwanue, the junior son of Daily Observer former Editor, Cewhy Kwanue.
Menker told the Daily Observer that the fire which started about 4:45 a.m. on Monday, January 18, 2012, would be blamed on electrical shock from a power generator, which according to him his brother known as Prince forgot to put off before going to bed.”
He said the fire started from the phone charging compartment within the shop.
Menker lamented loosing everything that was in the shop, including goods, laptops, phones and other valuable items.
He said that almost all the residents that went to sympathize with him had phones on charge, but were consumed by the blaze.
“I had about 100 pieces of phones on charge here and all got damaged. In fact, people, who are coming to tell me sorry were having their phones on charge, and I don’t know what to tell them,” he said.
Menker said he also lost US$600, which he had kept in the shop to purchase some goods from the Ivory Coast.
“This business was something that all my families depended on, and to see it destroyed completely shows that the whole family has broken-down. Just today I supposed to send money to one of my relatives to the Tapitta Hospital in Nimba County, but could not make it. It means the other person will not have proper treatment,” he said in tears.
“It’s only Jehovah God who knows where we would sleep and eat until we can recover, because I have lost everything to the fire. So, I am pleading to people of goodwill to help me,” he cried.
Eyewitnesses confirmed to this paper how everything that was in the shop got amaged.
“We all saw the fire blazing, but we could not do anything about the flames because at the time all the goods have already been damaged. Almost everything is destroyed running into thousands of United States Dollar. It’s a very sad situation,” said an eyewitness.
Some of the residents, however, resorted to quenching the flames with sachet water under a confused state of mind but to no avail.
“The fire was not worse from the onset, but we have no stream or creek around the area to fetch from to fight the advancing flames,” a resident said.


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Seized: Huge haul of fake designer shoes and trainers worth £2.3m
Fake designer shoes and trainers with a street value of £2.3millon have been seized by Customs officers at Britain’s largest container port.
The 318 boxes of counterfeit Jimmy Choo and Gucci ladies’ shoes and boots, and 600 cartons of fake Nike trainers, were found at Felixstowe in Suffolk.
Fake: Counterfeit shoes and trainers worth £2.3m have been seized by Customs officers (file picture)
They are thought to have been shipped from China and would have been sold at car boot sales.
Jim Jarvie, of the UK Border Agency, said: ‘Most illegal goods fund organised crime and even terrorism.’
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In 2013, when the Big Flat Grocery closed in Turner — a farming community hub to about 200 people in northern Montana — its residents went a year without having access to a local grocery store.
Turner resident Shannon Van Voast said during that time she drove 75 miles to the grocery store in Havre, where she would buy six gallons of milk at a time and freeze them for her 2-year-old twins.
These six gallons, she said, would last her until she made her next pilgrimage to Havre several weeks later.
Van Voast said that during that time the closest store was 31 miles away in Harlem. Other options included Chinook, 50 miles; Malta, 77; Havre, 75; and Great Falls, 190 miles away.
But thanks to a lot of planning and jumping through bureaucratic hoops, the residents of Turner found a solution.
In 2014 the community reopened Big Flat Grocery as a cooperative business.
For some the word cooperative might conjure images of hipster communes — but cooperatives provide services in a multitude of domains, including housing, food and utilities.
Unlike a traditional for-profit business, customers, employees or suppliers can buy into a cooperative and become shareholders, effectively owning the business.
In addition, co-ops are often run by a board of directors, who make decisions based on providing a service rather than turning a profit.
Today Van Voast is the secretary of the Big Flat Grocery's board of directors, and while her decision to help her town form a cooperative may seem out of the ordinary, Van Voast's story of traveling 75 miles for milk is common in rural America.
According to the USDA website, 63 percent of Granite County households lived at least 30 miles away from the nearest grocery store in 2010. Meanwhile, 139 households in Deer Lodge County were without of car and lived at least a half-mile away from the nearest store.
But thanks to organizations like the Montana Cooperative Development Center and the USDA's Rural-Business Cooperative Service, low-access communities like Turner are getting assistance in starting cooperatives in food and housing.
Last week Sam Rikkers — the administrator for the USDA's Rural Business-Cooperative Service — was in town for the Back to Basics Summit at the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort to discuss how the cooperative business model can solve food and housing challenges that are unique to rural communities.
In an interview with The Montana Standard, Rikkers said national economic challenges are often exacerbated in rural communities.
He said that due to increasing globalization and advances in agricultural technology, young people are leaving rural America in search of jobs and are less likely to take over the family farm or business.
As a result, he said, when a business owner dies, his or her wealth transfers to their offspring who may live in another town or even another state.
However, Rikkers said that the cooperative business model can help residents of small rural communities keep some of their wealth inside their towns.
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"If the business is a cooperative, then the retirement, death or ending of the business doesn't cause the wealth of that business to evaporate," said Rikkers. "It just transfers to the other members of that cooperative who happen to be members of that small town."
Rikkers said communities interested in starting a cooperative should contact the Montana Cooperative Development Center, a statewide organization that helps cooperatives get off the ground.
Janice Brown, the executive director of the Montana Cooperative Development Center, said each year the USDA gives the organization a $200,000 Rural Cooperative Development Grant. She said her organization uses this money to assist cooperatives as they go through the various steps needed to launch their business.
And prospective cooperatives do need the help.
As Van Voast pointed out, starting a cooperative is no walk in the park.
"It takes a long time and a lot of research to even see if it's a viable option," said Van Voast.
She said Turner residents took six years to establish their grocery store, during which time they went through several formal steps, including forming a steering committee and filing a statement of intent. These, Brown added, are important steps that her organization helps cooperatives navigate.
Janelle Gustafson, a Montana state representative from USDA Rural Development, said that providing grants to development centers is not all the USDA has been doing to help communities in Montana.
Gustafson pointed out that in Butte and the surrounding area, the USDA has been helping local projects succeed.
In 2013 the organization provided a $1.4 million loan for the construction of the Emma Park Neighborhood Center, 25 W. Silver St., Butte. In addition, last week Rikkers toured Stokes Market in Anaconda, which received a loan guaranteed by the USDA to keep the store from closing.
A news release from Gustafson's office said this action saved 56 jobs in Anaconda. The store also received a grant from the USDA to install energy-efficient lighting.
For Rikkers, saving rural communities is about keeping small-town values intact, which he believes has implications for the country as a whole.
"If towns didn't exist, you'd have a very different America," said Rikkers. "There is an intrinsic value in the values and the way of life in small towns that I think have been a bedrock for the values and ways of life of this country."
Van Voast added that, for a small town like Turner, keeping a grocery store isn't just about convenience — it's about keeping the community intact.
"If there's no store there, there's essentially no more community," said Van Voast.
"Because if you can't buy groceries there, you're not going to be able to hire teachers to come in and teach at the school. If you don't have teachers to teach in the school, then where are the kids going to go to school? I can't move my farm; I need my kids to get an education; so there are no easy answers. We need it all — the continuum of living."


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Restructuring Canada's dairy supply management policy could result in lower prices of dairy products in grocery stores while expanding global marketing opportunities for Canadian dairy producers, according to findings from The Conference Board of Canada's analysis of supply management.
The report, "Reforming Dairy Supply Management: The Case for Growth," released March 6, suggests that Canada's current policy limits the growth of its dairy industry, especially in international markets.
"A win-win reform package needs to be accompanied by a new vision for industry growth," said Dr. Michael Bloom, vice president, industry and business strategy, for the conference board. "Dairy producers and rural communities have a lot to gain from reform under a growth scenario. More efficient producers are more likely to see an upside, but we have to change the way we do business."
The current policy determines a target price for milk based on the cost of production and proceeds to restrict the supply to generate that price, which is ultimately paid by food processors and consumers.
In fact, the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development estimated that for the decade ended 2011, the current system cost Canadian dairy consumers an average of $2.6 billion per year, or approximately $276 per family.
Because of current policy, Canada has not experienced growth in milk volumes despite an increase in its population since the policy was established more than 40 years ago.
The dairy industry in Canada has shrunk from more than 174,000 farms in 1967 to 12,500 farms currently (Figure), with the herd size averaging 77 head; meanwhile, the domestic dairy market has gone stagnant.
Furthermore, Canada was a net importer of dairy products in 2012, although it had $27 million in milk powder exports. Globally, its share of the world market is marginal — at 0.02% for milk powder, 0.29% for cheese and 0.01% for butter.
The demand for dairy products worldwide, especially with China facing a whole milk powder shortage, is robust and has grown 7% per year for the last three years.
"Dairy supply management is an old solution to an old problem," Bloom said. "When the current system came into effect, international trade in dairy products was very limited. Today, countries such as China are growing markets thirsting for quality dairy products. We're not in a position to take full advantage because our system is now outdated."
Therefore, it will be necessary for Canada to change its current supply management policy in order to capitalize on demand growth, especially since a World Trade Organization panel ruled that the price gap between Canadian and world prices is a subsidy and, hence, limits the country's exports to the WTO subsidy threshold.
According to the report, a new system must comprehensively incorporate "FEED": funding efficiency, equity and duration.
"Supply management reform must coordinate the three major aspects of supply management: price setting, quota and trade barriers. Cutting out any single part of the reform makes the entire system unstable," Bloom said.
A change in policy must include reforming a production quota that historically has been the foundation of Canada's dairy industry. The conference board recommended a book value buyout, which is estimated to cost $3.6-4.7 billion.
Still, trade policy negotiators need to gain access to international markets for Canadian dairy products at the same time price and quota reforms are occurring in order for the industry to profit.


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A few more details trickled out today regarding the new Android smartphone that Motorola is expected to unveil next week.
Citing a person familiar with the handset, Bloomberg reports that it will feature an edge-to-edge display and support 4G LTE networks. The source didn't spill any other details, except that the device will go on sale with Verizon Wireless later this year.
Though Verizon and Motorola declined to comment to Bloomberg, both 4G support and a noteworthy screen sound plausible. Previous rumors have pegged the name of the phone as the(say that three times fast) and for the Wednesday, September 5 evebt in New York promised to put something "on display."
It's unclear, however, whether the new phone will deliver. While such a feature, recent just a 4.3-inch qHD (960x540-pixel) Super AMOLED Advanced display with Gorilla Glass 2.
On the outside, the Droid Razr M 4G LTE should sport the trim profile of the earlier
Whatever happens, CNET will be at next Wednesday's event to bring you all the news in words, pictures, and video.


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LAS VEGAS — The most successful new products in the food and beverage marketplace aren’t necessarily the most innovative, said David Jago, director of innovation and insight at Mintel International. Consider Dannon Oikos Triple Zero Greek yogurt, which generated a whopping $108 million in sales in its first year, but as Mr. Jago noted, “is just another Greek yogurt.”
Similarly, he said, some of the most innovative product concepts aren’t best-sellers, and in many cases, are short-lived.
|David Jago, director of innovation and insight at Mintel|
“Disruptive innovation is really, really rare in the food and drink market,” Mr. Jago said at IFT17, the Institute of Food Technologists’ annual meeting and exposition, held June 26-28 in Las Vegas.
Mr. Jago and Lynn Dornblaser, director of innovation and insight at Mintel, discussed trends in product development during a series of presentations at IFT17.
|Lynn Dornblaser, director of innovation and insight at Mintel|
“Consumers are faced with a lot of choice,” Ms. Dornblaser said. “Not only are they faced with a lot of choice in store; they’re also faced with a lot of choice when it comes to where they buy products. It’s a very complex, very confusing marketplace.”
Of the more than 20,000 food and beverage introductions last year, 25% were new products or brands, 37% were new varieties or line extensions, and 31% were products with new packaging. The remaining introductions represented a relaunch or reformulation.
“What we see is most of the products that get introduced increasingly in the marketplace aren’t even new,” Ms. Dornblaser said. “They’re not innovation. They might be what we would call renovation.”
She added: “It boils down to this question: What is it that consumers actually want?... When we’ve asked consumers what their priorities are for food shopping … taste is No. 1.”
Other qualities driving preferences in food and beverage products are freshness, cost, healthfulness and naturalness. Of freshness, Ms. Dornblaser said, “That doesn’t mean it’s chilled and has a three-day shelf life. What it does mean is they want to trust the quality and freshness of the ingredients going into that product.”
Read on for six product development trends discussed by Mintel at IFT17.


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Shoes, sweepstakes, and sweet flavors, oh my! This National English Muffin Day, Thomas’ is celebrating like never before. To honor the Nooks & Crannies® perfection, the folks at Thomas’ are proud to partner again with Operation Warm – a national nonprofit whose mission is to provide warmth, confidence, and hope through basic need programs that connect underserved children to community resources – to grant a $100,000 donation resulting in 5,000 pairs of brand-new shoes for students at five deserving elementary schools within Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle.
Throughout the month of April, elementary schools within each of the five cities will receive 500 pairs of brand-new shoes to inspire confidence amongst students and encourage outdoor play. Since joining forces with Operation Warm in 2020, Thomas’ has donated brand-new coats or shoes to more than 25 elementary schools across the country.
In addition to its ongoing partnership with Operation Warm, Thomas’ is offering muffin-crazed consumers a chance to win hyper limited-edition merchandise designed specifically for National English Muffin Day. Beginning today, muffin lovers can head to Thomas’ Instagram account to enter for chance to win hot, “right out of the toaster” muffin swag including a tank top showcasing the only six pack that matters to a T-shirt giving love to Sunday mornings and Thomas’ signature Nooks & Crannies goodness.
As an English Muffin Day celebration wouldn’t be complete without new products for fans to enjoy, the brand is also introducing NEW Thomas’ Muffin Tops as well as bringing back fan-favorite Maple French Toast English Muffins. A spin on the classic English muffin, Muffin Tops – available in Blueberry Oat and Chocolate Chip varieties – are perfect for fans seeking a mess-free, portable breakfast or snack option and are now available at retailers throughout the Southeast with a suggested retail price of $5.79.
Maple French Toast English Muffins will also make their return to shelves this month following a rallying cry from consumers hungry for more of this Limited-Edition flavor. Made with the rich, warm taste of maple syrup, this sweet and comforting flavor is available for a limited time at grocery stores nationwide for a suggested retail price of $4.79.
“National English Muffin Day is a treasured holiday for our brand, so we’re honored to celebrate by continuing our commitment to helping the communities that we serve through our special partnership with Operation Warm,” said Eduardo Zarate, Senior Director of Marketing for Thomas’. “In addition to our work with Operation Warm, our ‘toast’ to this special holiday offers so many ways to celebrate by delivering exciting new products, new flavors and new swag to our fans – all driven by consumer feedback and insights. We’ve loved bringing the Nooks & Crannies goodness of Thomas’ to fans for 142 years and we hope these new introductions will keep English Muffin-lovers coming back for more!”
Thomas’ dates back to 1880 when Samuel Bath Thomas created his original English Muffin in New York City using a secret process that included griddle baking to create a Nooks and Crannies® English Muffin. The company has since added bagels and breakfast breads, including a line of swirl breads and mini croissants, to its breakfast offerings. Today, Thomas’ sells the #1 English Muffin and #1 grocery bagel in the U.S. For a full list of Thomas’ products and where to buy them, please visit www.ThomasBreads.com.


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Facebook’s virtual reality business, Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi and chip maker Qualcomm this week announced a partnership to develop VR headsets.
Under the agreement, announced Monday at CES in Las Vegas, Oculus — the VR startup acquired by Facebook in 2014 — will work with Xiaomi on the new Oculus Go headset expected to launch early this year.
In addition, the companies will develop another headset, the Mi VR Standalone, exclusively for the Chinese market.
Oculus officials said that the Chinese headset would share core hardware and design components with the Oculus Go, which would help the company’s developers bring their content to the world’s largest country.
Both headsets will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 821 Mobile VR Platform.
The agreement, Oculus wrote, “will deliver the next generation of VR products at accessible prices to people worldwide.”
Facebook was the world’s No. 3 maker of VR headsets — trailing only Samsung and Sony — according to a September analysis by IDC.


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In counterfeiting prevention, “the biggest thing is access to API,” said Samuel Louis, a recently retired US attorney who worked with Pfizer, Merck, Eli Lilly and the FDA to take down drug counterfeiters. “That’s been part of our discussion – whether there is a method to safeguard APIs.”
However, he said, efforts to prevent APIs reaching the counterfeiters who make fake versions of branded drugs entering the supply chains also need to consider the right of generics manufacturers to freely access chemicals:
“Of course you can have a generic version of a lot of these drugs, so there is an argument APIs should be available to everyone. But there has to be a way to make sure an API doesn’t end up in the hands of certain individuals.”
When In-Pharmatechnologist asked the European Generics Association (EGA) if restricting access to chemicals would discriminate against generics firms, its Senior Manager, Quality and Regulatory Affairs, said the organisation supports the fight against counterfeits and believes in “collaborative efforts” across the industry.
“In the EU, since the entry into force of the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) in January 2013, manufacturers can only use APIs from distributors, importers or manufacturers which have been registered with the competent authorities where they are established,” said Julie Marechal-Jamil.
“This comes in addition to the common industry practice by which companies develop a thorough understanding of their API supply chains and manage them very closely, applying principles of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Distribution Practices (GDP).”
Although GMP and GDP were designed to safeguard the consistency of substances, they also document the handling of materials and so are useful to regulators inspecting the supply chain for illegal diversion, she said.
‘Barrels labelled API’
Aside from the purchase or theft of active chemicals, criminal counterfeiters have a second way of exploiting the API supply chain, Louis told us: by smuggling finished counterfeit medicines internationally in shipments labelled as API containers.
This method was used by Kevin Xu, a counterfeiter sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison in 2009 for one of the biggest scams of its kind.
Agents from the US Department of Homeland Security met Xu in a Starbucks in Bangkok in 2007, posing as buyers for the illicit medicines, Louis told In-Pharmatechnologist.com.
“Mr Xu offered the agent a large number of drugs. He further indicated he was placing pharmaceutical drugs in barrels that were labelled as API. So [that is how] he was getting these drugs into the UK. Then he said that he wanted to use the same process to get drugs into the USA.”
After Xu’s arrest, Louis swapped intelligence with the UK MHRA (Medicines Health and Regulatory Agency) about this smuggling method, which was used to distribute fake Zyprexa, Plavix and Casodex in the UK.
“Mr Xu would put the drugs in barrels and they would be labelled as pharmaceutical ingredients. Once they were in the barrels, they were already sealed. So customs at Luxembourg would never open and inspect them.”
When we asked if this API scam could be happening in the US, Louis replied customs could not inspect every package.
“Say someone ordered a 90-day supply of pharmaceutical product that could come in a very small package. Sometimes that can escape detection then and there, but if it’s on a regular basis within a six-month period from the same location going to the same person or company, one of those packages may be inspected.”
US mail inspections have resulted in arrests for pharmaceutical counterfeiting, such as seizures in San Francisco in 2011 which led to the conviction of En Wang.


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Significantly, the results could spell possible peril for companies lagging in digital transformation: those that have embraced mass digital changes reported significantly higher levels of market share (85 percent vs. 41 percent) and profitability (80 percent vs. 53 percent).
Companies named as the leaders in the survey expect to see roughly 23 percent more revenue growth over the next two years than the rest of the organizations surveyed.
The study also found that digital transformation was cited as a top-three driver of future revenue, across all industries and among companies of all sizes.
“SAP Digital Transformation Executive Study: 4 Ways Leaders Set Themselves Apart” is the most comprehensive of its kind. Based on survey results from more than 3,000 senior executives across 17 countries and regions, it identifies the challenges, opportunities, value and key technologies driving digital transformation.
The results also identify the Top 100 companies — called Digital Leaders — who are best at connecting people, things and businesses. Based on the study, four traits of digital leaders were identified:
Traits of Digital Leaders
Digital Leaders hold four key traits. They:
- See digital transformation as truly transformational: 96 percent of Leaders say digital transformation is a core business goal, compared to 61 percent of all others. The transformation extends through their company, to how they interact with customers, suppliers and partners.
- Focus on customer-facing functions first: 70 percent of Leaders say digital transformation is already delivering increased customer satisfaction vs. 22 percent of all others. The customer experience is the gateway to a successful digital transformation.
- Prioritize talent: 71 percent of Leaders say that digital transformation efforts make it easier to attract and retain talent vs. 54 percent of all others. They also spend more on retraining the existing workforce than their peers.
- Invest in next-generation technologies: 50 percent of Leaders are already working with artificial intelligence and machine learning, compared to 7 percent of all others. They are also investing more heavily in Big Data and analytics (94 percent vs. 60 percent) and the Internet of Things (76 percent vs. 52 percent). Using a bimodal IT architecture lets them run legacy systems efficiently while rapidly integrating new technologies.
“Digital transformation is no longer a choice, it’s an essential driver of revenue, profit and growth,” said Vivek Bapat, senior vice president, global head of Marketing Strategy and Thought Leadership, SAP.
He also adds, “Executives need to move from simply understanding the high stakes to activating complete end-to-end execution across their business. This requires innovative breakthrough technologies, investing in digital skills, and retraining the existing workforce. The next two years will be a key inflection point, which will separate the digital winners from those left behind.”


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Veteran journalist Carl Hoffman believes he’s solved one of the great mysteries of the 20th century. In 1961 at the age of 23, Michael Rockefeller – son of New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller and a member of one of the richest and most powerful families in America ¬– travelled to remote New Guinea in search of primitive art for his father’s new museum.
Kasich: No Bidding War For Sears
It’s looking less and less likely that retail giant Sears will relocate its corporate headquarters from Illinois to central Ohio.
The state legislature in Illinois is considering an incentives package worth $275 million. That’s substantially less than the $400 million deal Ohio offered, but Governor John Kasich says he won’t get into a bidding war.
“No, a bidding war implies that there’s no ceiling. There are ceilings to what we can do. My feeling is that if the legislature in Illinois passes something special, they’re going to stay in Illinois. I don’t think they’re going to ask them to stay in Illinois, then thumb their nose at them.”
Kasich says he tried to sell Ohio as a “good place to do business” since Sears has had financial trouble in recent years.


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Apple today said that the more expensive iPad models that connect to the Internet using AT&T's wireless network will go on sale April 30 in the US, barely meeting the company's self-imposed deadline to ship the tablet by the end of the month.
Just what Apple needed to hype its latest product even more: A photo of Norway's Prime Minister running his country from his iPad.
Don't count on bringing the iPad on any trips to the Holy Land, as Israel has blocked Apple's tablet from entering the country.
Top companies like Hewlett-Packard Co. and Google Inc. planning to come out with tablet computers have a lot of work ahead of them if they want to compete with and beat Apple Inc.'s popular iPad device.
Australia's three main telcos -- VHA, Telstra and Optus -- have all announced today that they are offering a series of mobile broadband plans for the upcoming Apple iPad.
Taiwanese electronics maker BenQ plans to continue to focus on e-readers instead of developing a tablet device similar to Apple's iPad, and believes a color version of its nReader due out later this year will be one of the keys to winning the market.
If Apple announces multitasking for its iPhone and iPad tomorrow, it will be a limited version that the company controls, allowing some applications to run in the background but denying others, experts said today.
One of the most high-profile iPad apps that will be available on launch day is Marvel's comic book reader, which will let people buy and read current and past Marvel comics on Apple's iPad.
Depending upon your perspective, Apple's iPad may be priceless or it may be pointless. On a less subjective scale, however, we're getting a better idea of what exactly an iPad is worth -- when it comes to its components, at least.
Without a doubt the most anticipated tech launch so far this year, the Apple iPad has finally arrived. Unveiled in the US over the weekend, the device's launch was accompanied by a storm of publicity that only an Apple product could create.
Some owners of Apple's new iPad have complained of weak wireless signals, dropped connections and slow surfing speeds, messages on the company's support forum show.
Hewlett-Packard this week started leaking information about its upcomping tablet computer, apparently hoping to take advantage of the hype and buzz surrounding Saturday's release Apple's iPad tablet computer.
We didn't have to wait long. Citrix has released two apps for the iPad: Citrix Receiver and GoToMeeting.
If you haven't heard yet, Apple released a new device this past weekend called the iPad. It's basically a computer and an iPhone rolled into one, but, like, 8 billion times better.
Apple today said it sold more iPads on Saturday than it sold first-generation iPhones in 2007 over a two-day period.
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For work use, Microsoft Word and Excel programs pre-installed on the device are adequate for preparing short documents.
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CACHEBOX on Italian Cruise
ApplianSys is pleased to announce that Italian ISP Tecnonet S.P.A has purchased a CACHEBOX solution to facilitate internet connectivity onboard a fleet of Mediterranean cruise vessels.
Tecnonet’s partner, Italia Telecom, provisions Wi-Fi connectivity for the vessels over a 512Kbps satellite link. However, the limited bandwidth put constraints on the number of users each vessel could cater for. As a result, the cruise company had to forego sales to maintain decent internet quality.
CACHEBOX Sales Executive Francesc Amador comments: “Adding more than a certain number of users would diminish Wifi connectivity significantly. There is strong demand from passengers for internet access. But bandwidth availability becomes very limited when you’re hundreds of miles out at the sea.”
Tecnonet’s Network Analyst, Massimiliano Galizia, talked to Francesc about the possibility of adding more users on the existing link: By caching content locally, they could create more bandwidth capacity on the vessels, thereby adding more users without impacting internet speeds for others. They found CACHEBOX was ideal.
The ISP plans to deploy a CACHEBOX in each vessel, alongside Wi-Fi devices, routers, satellite equipment and video streaming servers.
“There’s heavy demand for CACHEBOX on ships and remote islands. In these cases where the maximum available bandwidth is insufficient, CACHEBOX dramatically reduces the amount of bandwidth needed to use the internet effectively. With CACHEBOX, we are able to save bandwidth and improve connectivity for passengers. Technonet Spa wants to put a cache box in each vessel,” says Francesc.
Founded in Rome in 1992, Tecnonet Spa (http://www.tecnonetspa.it/) is the market leader in the Italian IT industry. The company provisions services in data, video, voice networks and networking.
Tecnonet covers the Italian territory and islands through ten branches and two subsidiaries.
It has also developed a platform of interactive “WEB&TECNO” services aimed to optimise all implementation processes for mid-to-large scale TLC projects. The company is part of the multinational group USA MRV.


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usage note for prioritize
OTHER WORDS FROM prioritizepri·or·i·ti·za·tion, nounre·pri·or·i·ti·za·tion, nounre·pri·or·i·tize, verb (used with object), re·pri·or·i·tized, re·pri·or·i·tiz·ing.
Words nearby prioritize
How to use prioritize in a sentence
This isn’t the first way that Lowe’s has prioritized helping minority business-owners since the coronavirus pandemic began.Lowe’s teams up with Daymond John to diversify its suppliers with a virtual pitch competition|McKenna Moore|September 15, 2020|Fortune
Atkins promised later in the week to prioritize the decertification measure in the next session.Sacramento Report: 3 Takeaways From a Wild Legislative Session|Sara Libby|September 4, 2020|Voice of San Diego
The post Five reasons why SEO should be prioritized over paid media campaigns appeared first on Search Engine Watch.Five reasons why SEO should be prioritized over paid media campaigns|Ryan Gould|September 4, 2020|Search Engine Watch
If politicians don’t want to see cities burn, they must prioritize real change.Kenosha’s looting is a symptom of a decrepit democracy|Aaron Ross Coleman|September 4, 2020|Vox
Since introducing online shopping in 2000, the company hasn’t always prioritized digital sales.America’s largest retailer is taking on Amazon Prime|Marc Bain|September 4, 2020|Quartz
RAWIYA: I learned several years ago that in these kinds of situations, I have to prioritize my own feelings.
Graham was asked what Republicans should prioritize if they take control of the Senate in the midterm elections.
They set up an area for patient triage and identification to help them prioritize.The Military’s Mission to Fight Ebola Might Be Dangerous But it Won’t Be Black Hawk Down|Nathan Bradley Bethea|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The United States, they said, should “prioritize the flow of highly skilled or educated immigrants” into the country.
Even countries with extremely limited resources still choose to prioritize the health of children above everything else.Measles Vaccine Mix-Up Kills Dozens of Syrian Children|Kent Sepkowitz|September 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST


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The two longest running wood pellet manufacturing companies in the U.S. have announced a merger that will create the largest residential wood pellet fuel producer in the United States. Ken Tucker, CEO of Lignetics Inc. and Bob Sourek, CEO of Bear Mountain Forest Products Inc., announced that the two companies have completed a merger, creating a company that will now have a production capacity of approximately 450, 000 tons of wood pellets per year. The company will also be the only pellet manufacturing company that will have wood pellet manufacturing plants on both the East Coast and the West Coast. The combined company will have plant locations in Brownsville, Oregon; Cascade Locks, Oregon; Sandpoint, Idaho; Glenville, West Virginia; and Kenbridge, Virginia. The merger brings together some of the industry’s most well-known brands including Golden Fire, Lignetics, Bear Mountain, America's Best, Pres-to-Log, Dry Den, Cozy Den and EZ Equine.
"Completing this merger marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in our two companies’ history, making us the market leader in the residential wood pellet industry in the U.S., " Tucker said.
Bob Sourek added, “We are excited about the merger with Lignetics and the ability to offer all of our customers a more diverse product offering, now from five different plant locations.”
In addition to having the market leading, high quality brands of wood fuel pellets (Golden Fire, Lignetics, Bear Mountain, America’s Best and Pres-to-Logs), the array of products that the combined company will be able to offer its customer base is now even more diverse. In the animal bedding category, products feature the patented Dry Den Animal Bedding Pellets with Zeolites, the EZ Equine 100 percent All Natural Pine Animal Bedding Pellet, and Cozy Den Premium Shavings in both pine and cedar. In the product category of fire logs and bricks, the featured products are Bear Mountain Bear Bricks and Pres-to-Logs fire logs, which have been on store shelves since the 1980’s. Additionally, the merger will strengthen the companies’ position in the BBQ pellet market with increased production and distribution of Bear Mountain BBQ Pellets.