text:
People: Drynks Unlimited; PM+M; Ten Locks; Glass Futures; Jefferies Solicitors
Register for free to receive latest news stories direct to your inboxRegister
Hospitality and drinks expert Paul Newman has joined the Sale-based Drynks Unlimited team as on-trade lead and brand partner to help the business accelerate its on-trade reach with its award winning Smashed range of alcohol-free beers and ciders.
Newman is no stranger to the hospitality sector. He was a founding director of Living Ventures restaurant group which launched with The Living Room concept in December 1999 which he built to 13 sites winning a stack of awards. He went on to launch Residence Restaurant and Bar, was the founder and MD of his own pub and restaurant company and has previously worked with drinks brands such as Absolut Vodka, Perrier Jouët Champagne and Plymouth Gin. He uses his wealth of knowledge to offer senior level brand, sales and marketing consultancy to drinks brands, bars, restaurants and hotels.
The independent British alcohol-free drinks business launched its Smashed range of 0% beers and ciders in 2019 after founder, Richard Clark, spotted an opportunity to create a business 100% focused on producing the best quality alcohol-free drinks. He previously worked on major drinks brands including Pepsi, Crabbies and Whitley Neil gin.
Newman will support Richard Clark and the Drynks sales team to raise awareness and secure opportunities for the Smashed range of 0% alcohol beers and ciders directly with restaurants, bars, pubs, and hotels and wholesalers in the UK. He will work closely with high profile businesses within the on-trade and enable them to benefit from this massively growing category.
Richard Clark said: “The hospitality trade has suffered greatly during the COVID-19 pandemic and Paul is helping us to positively support the sector as they slowly unlock. Paul brings a wealth of hospitality expertise and fantastic contacts which will help bring the Smashed brand to more consumers.”
Paul Newman said: “It’s perfect timing for Smashed. I have watched this category grow massively over recent years and it’s great to be involved with such an innovative company and such an awesome range of British AF Beers and ciders. I am partial to a glass of wine or three, but even I have been rethinking drinking and converted to flexi-drinking lifestyle, I’m really looking forward getting Smashed in many more venues across the UK.”
Drynks Unlimited owns the only 0% brewery in the UK which uses pioneering cool vacuum distillation technology to produce alcohol-free drinks. All Smashed drinks start life as real craft beer and cider (between 5%-5.7%) and they are gently dealcoholised which retains the DNA of the original drink. The business invested in this process because it delivers a quality taste experience that consumers crave.
Blackburn and Bury-based PM+M, the chartered accountancy, business advisory and wealth management group, has made eight promotions across the firm.
In the wealth management team Rachel Ainsworth has been promoted to manager. Rachel joined PM+M in 2017, while Rebecca Cox and Samantha Whittle, who both joined the team in 2019, have been made assistant managers.
Andy Kirkaldy has become an assistant manager in the tax, VAT and customs duties team. He has worked at PM+M since 2015. Mo Patel, who arrived in 2018, is now a senior adviser in the payroll team and Mark Honeyman takes up the same role in the audit team. Mark was appointed in 2016.
The final two promotions are in the cloud accounting team with Mark Sharples being promoted to assistant manager and his colleague Johanna Dean is now a senior adviser. Mark was appointed in 2015 and Johanna in 2016.
PM+M works hard to ensure the development of its team as demonstrated after being shortlisted in last year’s Gold Employer of the Year (50-249 employees) category in The Investors in People 2020 Awards.
Jane Parry, managing partner, said: “Each of these promotions is hugely deserved as they have all played a key part in PM+M’s success over the past year. The pandemic has brought out the best in our team, with our clients remaining their focus, so it is fantastic to give this kind of recognition which is so well deserved.”
Ten Locks, the Irlam-based premium spirits distributor, has doubled its team with three new recruits nationwide. Julian Howard, David Piazzani and Gemma Butler join Ten Locks in building a growing portfolio of progressive drinks brands for the on and off trade.
Julian Howard joins as off-trade controller and will lead the company’s off-trade offering by generating new listings for the portfolio and leading delivery of promotions and in-store activations with retail partners.
As with all of the senior team at Ten Locks, Julian has extensive grassroots experience as a bartender. After working behind the bar for a decade, Julian transferred his skills to brand development, working across many high profile brands at Allied Domecq, Mangrove, Inspirit and, more recently, Berry Bros & Rudd.
Ten Locks has also welcomed David Piazzani as key account manager for London and the South. David will be responsible for managing key on-trade accounts for Ten Locks across the capital – a critical piece of territory for premium spirits. Leveraging his extensive hospitality experience, he will grow the firm’s portfolio of conscious brands across a range of venues and work alongside operators to offer drinks development support and deliver premium drinks experiences.
After starting his career behind the bar in his native Italy, David developed a lifelong passion for great cocktails and hospitality. After moving to the UK almost 15 years ago, David transitioned into the sales side of the drinks business with roles for Venus and Majestic where he honed his skills for introducing new brands to the trade and developing drinks for customers.
Gemma Butler has been hired as administrative assistant. She will head up the operational management of the Ten Locks portfolio, manage process development and act as a lynchpin for Ten Locks with the wider Kingsland Drinks team.
Becky Davies, who heads up the Ten Locks team, says: “We are hugely proud and excited to welcome the three new team members to the Ten Locks family. David and Julian bring a wealth of sales experience to the team and have incredible backgrounds in the drinks and hospitality industries. As with our other senior members of the team, myself included, having bartending experience brings a richness and a passion for hospitality to the table.
“We are also incredibly happy – and somewhat relieved – to bring Gemma on board who will no doubt whip the team into shape with her administrative and organisational skills. Something which every great team requires.
“The new hires are tantamount to the success of the Ten Locks venture so far – in less than a year we have built an incredible portfolio of compelling, global brands which are making strides in both the on and off trade nationwide.”
This month, the Kingsland Drinks Group – which includes Ten Locks – has made a move to being partially employee owned. The move builds on Kingsland Drinks Group’s employee-centric mindset and follows a period of significant investment in in capabilities and capacity.
Ten Locks’ portfolio now includes Nusa Caña, West Cork Irish Whiskey, Applewood Gin, Salford Rum, Banhez Mezcal, Diablesse Rum, El Tequileño, Mary White Vodka, Redwood Empire Whiskey and Langley’s Gin, with more additions set to be announced.
Juergen Maier, former chief executive of Siemens UK, has joined Glass Futures as an advisor to the board.
Juergen has an incredible history in manufacturing and is currently chair of the Digital Catapult and co-chair of the UK’s Made Smarter programme. He is known for championing manufacturing, improving infrastructure and engineering skills and is enthusiastic about the benefit of industrial digitalisation to encourage advanced manufacturing and investment in digital technologies.
He said: “Having been partially instrumental in the creation of Glass Futures a few years ago, I was delighted to be asked to become involved with Glass Futures to encourage their members’ to introduce new digital manufacturing technique, increasing production efficiencies and yields.”
Glass Futures chief executive, Richard Katz, said: “I’m delighted Juergen has agreed to join Glass Futures as an advisor to the board. This is a further indication of Glass Futures’ acceptance as a growing major industrial innovator and thought leader, as demonstrated a few months ago with the incredibly successful biofuel trial reducing the carbon footprint of some three million beer and spirits bottles by some 90%.
“Juergen joining us also provides a tremendous opportunity for Glass Futures’ members to benefit from his vast experience on the delivery of innovation and technology across the glass and other foundation industries.”
Granted planning permission in May this year, the 160,000 sq ft Glass Futures Centre of Excellence will be the world’s first openly accessible, multi-disciplinary experimental glass melting facility for research and development trials. The facility will be used to deliver industry and government backed R&D projects aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of glass production and will provide a platform for industry to test and trial their own ideas, both collaboratively and individually.
The facility is being funded through a mix of public and private investment. A £15m UKRI grant has been secured for the installation of a globally unique, experimental furnace and state-of-the-art infrastructure capable of producing 30 tonnes of glass per day and will enable the glass industry to implement change in a safe experimental space. Landowner and developer, Network Space, is securing private sector investment to support the construction costs alongside a £9m grant from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Glass sector companies will also contribute a further £20m in resource, time and equipment to support the project.
In addition to creating 80 permanent jobs, the project will lead to much needed apprenticeships, training and general up-skilling within the glass sector and attract further inward investment to the region as leading international glass companies focus resources to be within geographical reach of the facility.
Altrincham-based personal injury law firm Jefferies Solicitors has welcomed five new faces.
The new appointments follow nine new hires already this year, bringing the total of new hires at Jefferies to 14 so far in 2021.
Managing director, Michael Jefferies, said: “We are delighted to welcome all our new starters who I am sure will help the business to continue to expand and develop into the future.”
The appointments include legal assistant, Ruth Alexander, who said: “I have worked in law firms for many years in various areas of law, ranging from very large to very small companies. Joining Jefferies has taken me back to my preferred area of law.”
Digital marketing assistant Ben Ledgard has just graduated from Newcastle University with a degree in Marketing. His role involves social media management and content creation.
Ben said: “I am looking forward to entering marketing in the legal sector, that is a niche dynamic industry that allows for learning about various real life cases.”
Also joining Jefferies is a new member of inception, Fatimoh Efunkunle, new receptionist Vyta Eimonte, and finance assistant Henry Appleyard.


text:
In a move combining the legacy of the American muscle car with cutting-edge automotive technology, Shelby has unveiled a new limited edition Cobra, fitted with a carbon fibre body shell weighing a mere 88 lbs. The Shelby Cobra “Diamond Edition”, designed to recognize the iconic car’s sixtieth anniversary on the road, is limited to ten models, each running for the low, low price of $1.2 million. The automaker says the Cobra’s body has been completely engineered in autoclave-cured carbon fibre, including the floor and doors, allowing overall body weight to be significantly reduced.
NISSAN MELTS THE ICE
Nissan and the internal combustion engine have officially parted ways, making the brand the first Japanese automaker to announce a full stop to the development of ICE technology in every market but the U.S. Though the company has already ended gas engine sales in Europe, it will carry on the limited development of gas engines, mainly to serve the demand for pickup trucks like the Nissan Titan, in the U.S. market. This announcement will not affect hybrid engines, however, which will continue to be developed by Nissan.
CARBON AND LIGHTNING
On March 2, Ford announced its intent to split the company into two units. The Ford Model E division would focus on electrical vehicles (EVs) while the Ford Blue division specializes in carbon- producing internal combustion vehicles. In its press release, the automaker states divisions would operate as distinct businesses, but continue to share best practices and technologies. This is one of the elements in the Ford plus plan of maintaining shareholder interests with 10 percent earnings before interest and taxes and producing more than two million EVs by 2026.
“Our ambition with Ford plus is to become a truly great, world-changing company again, and that requires focus, “ said Jim Farley, CEO of Ford. “We are going all in, creating separate but complementary businesses that give us start-up speed and unbridled innovation.”
INGERSOLL AFTER APRIL
The last Chevy Equinox is scheduled for completion on April 29, making it the last fossil-fuel-dependent vehicle to be assembled at Ingersoll’s CAMI Assembly Plant. UNIFOR Local 88, the union representing workers at GM CAMI Assembly says this is a milestone for the hundreds of employees who worked at the plant for over 30 years. “We’re actually on six days a week right now, trying to build every last Equinox we can,” said Local 88 Chair Mike Van Boekel, adding the CAMI Plant will shut down to retool for Brightdrop electric vehicles until October or November.
Proving they can provide some bang with the buck, a new report from Kelley Blue Book has named Tesla’s Model 3 as the most cost-effective choice in the luxury EV market segment over a five- year period. When accounting for typical vehicle-related costs like insurance, maintenance costs, fuel costs, taxes and registration fees for the first five years of a vehicle’s lifespan, the Model 3 ended up at the top of the list for KBB’s “5-year Cost to Own Awards.” According to KBB’s data, the Model 3 has a 5-year cost-to-own of $48,233, which is $16,411 better than the segment average.
Volvo dealerships on the U.S.’s east coast are due for a major equipment upgrade as the Swedish automaker announced that artificial intelligence vehicle inspection tech will be provided to Volvo dealers in the region. The company says the goal behind this decision is to equip U.S. retailers with Israel-based UVeye’s AI vehicle inspection systems “to improve customer satisfaction and business efficiencies.” The camera-based inspection system uses machine learning technologies and AI to check tires, underbody components and vehicle exteriors for defects, missing parts and other safety-related issues in seconds, according to Volvo. Volvo’s v-p of U.S. sales operations, Rick Bryant said that this move will help expedite the trade-in appraisal process and create digital “vehicle health” reports with photos that can be shared with owners. Volvo is offering its dealers one of the three following UVeye inspection systems: Helios, an underbody scanner that detects a wide range of problems from frame damage to oil leakage and corrosion; Artemis, a tire system that identifies tire brand, basic specifications, air pressure, tread depth, sidewall damage, and if a vehicle’s tires are mismatched; and Atlas, a system that provides 360-degree exterior scans and detects damage such as dents, scratches, and rust on critical components including bumpers, mirrors, door locks, grilles, and windows.

domain: news


text:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Apple said on Tuesday that it has agreed to buy Quattro Wireless, a mobile advertising and publishing company.
Quattro runs advertising networks for smartphone applications and for the mobile Web. Its advertiser roster includes Procter & Gamble (PG, Fortune 500), Coca-Cola (KO, Fortune 500), Netflix (NFLX) and Disney (DIS, Fortune 500). Quattro also designs mobile Web pages. Google purchased a rival mobile ad firm, AdMob, in November.
Terms of the Apple-Quattro deal were not disclosed. An Apple spokesman said the company is "looking forward to developing exciting new opportunities for Quattro Wireless customers," but had no further comment.
Analysts say that selling mobile ads will give Apple another revenue source from the iPhone apps that it offers through its App Store. On Tuesday, Apple said it had logged its 3 billionth download from the App Store.
"Apple is seeing other companies like Google successfully selling ads for their apps, and Quattro can help them do that too," said Tole Hart, analyst at Gartner.
What we commonly call the Web is really just the surface. Beneath that is a vast, mostly uncharted ocean called the Deep Web. More
Sanjiv Patel has invested over $1 million in his peanut company under a program that grants green cards to investors, but he may get kicked out of the country if he doesn't hire eight more people. More
3,000 Americans around the world renounced their citizenship last year. Meet five U.S. citizens who have given up their passports -- or are thinking about it -- to escape an overly complicated tax code. More


text:
Apple's rumored television is 'the elephant in the room' at CES 2012
HDTV makers have shown increased innovation at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, spurred in part by fears that Apple is planning an entrance into the market with its own television set.
Analyst Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities noted the many different kinds of TVs shown at CES this year, including large OLED panels, 4K LED TVs with four times the resolution of 1080p, improved smart TVs, and 3D TV without the need for glasses. But weighing over it all at this year's show is what he called "the elephant in the room" at CES 2012: an Apple television.
In speaking with industry insiders on the show floor, White said it is generally believed that Sharp will supply the display panel for Apple's anticipated television set. No other details or potential features were provided.
White previously predicted that an Apple television running iOS and featuring Siri voice control and FaceTime video chat would be a major earner for Apple in a market expected to generate $102 billion in 2012. Last April, before rumors of an Apple television began to pick up steam, White said Apple was moving at a "faster pace than the market expected" to launch an HDTV. He incorrectly suggested Apple could launch a TV as quickly as the end of 2011.
As for Apple's competition, if it does enter the TV market, both Samsung and LG Electronics are expected to unveil large OLED TVs this year. OLED technology can offer thinner design, lower power consumption and superior picture quality versus an LCD TV.
Sony has taken a different path from OLED with its own Crystal LED. At this year's show, Sony showed off a 55-inch Crystal LED, which the company said offers higher contrast, superior viewing angles, better colors and a faster response time than current television sets.
Sony's prototype Crystal LED display was unveiled at CES this week.
White said Sharp appears to be the most aggressive of companies building 4K LED TVs. The Japanese TV maker is expected to have a 4K set reach the market this year, and the company is already working on an 8K ultra-high-definition HDTV.
And though 3D TV largely faltered in 2011, White noted that Toshiba is pressing forward and could be first to market with a new 3D set that does not require glasses. However, he said he found a glasses-free TV from China-based TCL Corporation to offer "a more compelling experience."
Finally, "smart TVs" have also had a major presence at this year's CES, as new models will feature integrated applications, voice and motion control, and some will even be upgradeable with replaceable hardware components. White noted that most leading vendors have chosen Google and its Android-based Google TV platform as their partner of choice.


text:
@benefitcosmetics “Your brows look bomb!” @rickeythompson ✨ Experience the magic of #benefitbrows with #24hrbrowsetter ♬ original sound – Benefit Cosmetics
-Film and branded content studio Bindery is behind a new TikTok campaign for Benefit Cosmetics U.S. Starring actor, comedian and social media personality Rickey Thompson, “Brow Tales” highlights the brand’s popular eyebrow products, such as the Precisely My Brow Pencil and 24-HR Brow Setter Clear Brow Gel. Two online videos act as mini modern fairy tales encouraging self-love and confidence and feature Thompson as a guardian archangel who offers brow affirmations to those in need of a brow pick-me-up.
-For a number of leading Ukrainian producers and filmmakers, global names like Dior, Diesel, and Mercedes, Miley Cyrus and Foals have become “loyal clients” in recent years.
-Ukrainian creatives are helping win the war and keeping the world’s attention.
–Accenture has rebranded its creative services division Accenture Interactive to Accenture Song.
-As the cost of living goes up across everything from energy to groceries, a study from Havas Media Group reveals how brands can best connect with customers thinking carefully about every dime.
-Meta is entering the brick-and-mortar retail arena, but in real life, not the metaverse.
-The most effective advertising for the last year came from brands including Samsung, eBay, Mitre 10 and Johnnie Walker, according to insights and consultancy firm Kantar.
-Social Media Week is coming up May 9-11. Register today.


text:
Fairfax City held its first crawl, this past summer, and it was such a big hit that it’s coming back again for this season, too. The Old Town Fairfax City Fall Crawl is slated for Saturday, Oct. 26, from 1-7 p.m.
It’s a timed, self-guided tour free to anyone 21 and over. And it’s designed to connect patrons with Old Town Fairfax City restaurants in a fun way, while promoting a walkable downtown and providing visibility to the local restaurants.
It features nine restaurants in the City’s downtown, and specialty drink and food options are available when a passport is shown. Passports may be picked up at the check-in location at Red Effect, 3950 University Drive, No. 103, which is centrally located at Old Town Plaza. Then, with passports in hand, patrons may chart their own courses, trying new restaurants as well as visiting their all-time favorites.
Each passport will identify the participating restaurants and specially priced food and beverages that customers may enjoy. When a purchase is made at those restaurants, the passport will be stamped. And while supplies last, people visiting four of the nine restaurants may return to the check-in location to receive a free, commemorative glass.
Adding to the fun, new to the event is a costume contest, with people encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes to the Fall Crawl. At the check-in location, photos will be taken of anyone dressed in costume, and participants will vote for their favorites. Prizes will be awarded for the best male and female costumes. Winners will receive a free, three-month membership to Red Effect, plus a Fairfax City branded gift basket.
The City’s Economic Development Authority is hosting the Fall Crawl. Participating restaurants are: Chubby Squirrel Brewing Co., Coyote Grille, High Side, Ornery Beer Co., Patriots Pub & Grill, the Auld Shebeen, the Wine House, the Old Firestation #3, and Zandra’s Taqueria.
“The Crawl celebrates some of the great restaurants we have in our historic Old Town, while promoting a walkable downtown,” explained Danette Nguyen, assistant director/programs manager of economic development. “This event connects visitors directly to our restaurant community. And it’s another, unique program developed by Economic Development for our hospitality industry that provides additional visibility like our Restaurant Week program did.”
Participants are encouraged to share photos of their experience using the hashtag #FairfaxCityFallCrawl. In addition, said Nguyen, “We encourage everyone to drink responsibly and not drink and drive.” For more information, go to fairfaxcityconnected.com/fallcrawl.


text:
At CES 2020, Huawei didn’t launch any product and decided to wait for a month because it’s now confirmed that Huawei will hold a launch conference at the upcoming Mobile World Congress (MWC 2020) in Barcelona.
It’s officially announced that Huawei will hold its MWC 2020 Global launch press conference on February 23 at 14:00 CET in Barcelona, Spain.
Huawei has not revealed any information about what it’s gonna launch but the promo image hints the global launch of Huawei Mate X. The promo image also points at a showcase of a bunch of products including smart wearables, notebooks, and IoT devices.
Huawei will surely put an online link so you watch the event from your comfort zones.


text:
Six major international film studios and Taobao Marketplace have agreed to work together to stop the sale and distribution of pirated movies, TV shows and other audiovisual content on China’s largest online shopping platform.
The overall goal of a memorandum of understanding signed by Taobao and the film studios’ representative, the U.S.-based Motion Picture Association (MPA), is “to promote a healthier online environment in China for the sale and distribution of legitimate audiovisual content,” according to a statement released today.
Both parties “have reached a common understanding regarding the importance of strengthening existing standards, mechanisms, and mutual responsibilities concerning the identification and removal of copies of MPA member company content from Taobao.com’s consumer-targeted e-commerce platform that the members have identified as counterfeit or otherwise infringing,” the joint statement said.
Taobao, a subsidiary of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, runs a vast online marketplace with more than 500 million registered users. Although the website has been flagged by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) as a “notorious market” for counterfeit goods sales, Taobao has in recent years stepped up efforts to monitor online storefronts for fakes and eject sellers of pirated products and content.
Headquartered in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., the MPA is an industry trade group that protects the intellectual property rights of its members in global markets. MPA members are Paramount Pictures; Sony Pictures Entertainment; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.; Universal City Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; and Warner


text:
The developers of STALKER 2, GSC Game World, have reported a recent cyberattack that resulted in the loss of employee data and game assets. Hackers recently threatened to release 30GB of STALKER 2 data.
GSC Game World’s statement reads:
A message from the GSC Game World team pic.twitter.com/rqRM0tFZmO
— STALKER OFFICIAL (@stalker_thegame) March 12, 2023
“It’s been over a year since we first started experiencing ongoing invasions. Blackmail, violence, hacking, threats against players and fans, as well as attempts to damage the development process and the reputation of our company have all been made against us,” the sentence reads.
It continues. “Please do not view or share anything about STALKER 2: HEART OF CHORNOBYL if there has been any leaks. The impact of the final idea we incorporated into the game may be diluted by outdated or in-progress content. For the best experience, we recommend that you wait patiently for the official release. We think you’ll like it.”
STALKER 2 has been hit with a lot of delays lately, most recently due to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. GSC Game World posted a video on YouTube about the challenges of creating a game during the June 2022 conflict.
December 2023 is the expected release date, which is just a placeholder. The game’s release date is currently slated for 2023, according to information posted on the developer’s official Discord server.


text:
The UK will be faced with a wave of company insolvencies once the government’s business support interventions come to an end next year.
That’s the view of Ric Traynor, chairman of the corporate insolvency company Begbies Traynor, which is expecting to see a sizable increase in business failures over the course of 2021.
Speaking to the London Evening Standard, Mr Traynor suggested that financial distress is already widely in evidence among businesses across the country but insolvency rates have been kept relatively low largely because of government support.
In particular, Mr Traynor suggests that the option of putting staff on furlough and having the costs of their wages covered by the government in the context of the Covid-19 crisis has been taken up by companies that otherwise may well have been wound up by now.
“There are plenty of companies that are just avoiding insolvency to claim furlough money to protect staff,” he’s quoted as saying. “There is very significant distress out there, there is a bow wave of problems.”
Despite many thousands of businesses being hit very badly by the pandemic, insolvency rates have remained fairly low as companies have been able to access financial support that otherwise would not have been available to them.
However, the view of many experts on corporate insolvency like Mr Traynor is generally that business failure rates will pick up sharply next year as initiatives like the government’s furlough scheme come to an end.
For many businesses, while they have been able to survive the worst of the pandemic, it may be that the challenge of trying to re-establish financial viability and sustainability moving forward proves insurmountable in 2021.
The latest figures released by Begbies Traynor through its ‘Red Flag Alert’ report indicated that in the third quarter of this year there were roughly 557,000 businesses in the UK that could be categorised as being in “significant distress” financially.
That figure represented a 6 per cent increase compared to the second quarter of the year and the sharpest quarterly rise recorded since 2017.
Hospitality businesses were among those being most affected by the pandemic and becoming most vulnerable to insolvency as the virus crisis continues.


text:
Insulin Access and Affordability
Changes in the U.S. health care system have led to greater consumer cost-sharing and a growing number of patients exposed to a medicine’s full retail price. This has left some Americans struggling to pay for their medicine.
Lilly is actively working with other key stakeholders to seek long-term policy solutions to address the gaps in our current health care system. We remain committed to finding solutions – both legislative and non-legislative – that will help people with chronic diseases have affordable access to their medicine. Find more information below.
Insurance design is changing and patients are responsible for more cost sharing. More and more, Americans do not pay for their medicines with a co-pay. Now, nearly half of adults with commercial insurance have a high-deductible health plan (HDHP), meaning people might pay thousands of dollars out-of-pocket before coverage kicks in. This is a big contributor to the insulin affordability issue.
Lilly, like other manufacturers, sets a list price for our medicines. To enable patient access, Lilly pays rebates and other discounts to payers and other supply chain entities. The final amount that Lilly ultimately realizes after paying these rebates and discounts is sometimes called the "net price." Across our U.S. product portfolio, Lilly’s average net price after rebates and discounts – the final amount we receive – has fallen from 59 percent of list price in 2014 to 46 percent in 2018. The amount of Lilly's rebates and discounts continues to increase through a combination of factors – including increased market competition, pharmacy benefit managers' (PBMs') increased negotiation leverage and rising mandatory government discounts. For insulins, rebates to the government, in certain programs, result in net prices among the lowest in the world, and lower than developed markets with single-payer, direct-purchase models.
These rebates continue to widen the gap between list and net prices, the amount that is ultimately realized by Lilly. Because of these growing rebates and discounts, the average U.S. net price of Lilly medicines – the final amount we receive from selling our products – declined 0.5% last year.
Factors that create this gap also contribute to the rising costs consumers pay at the pharmacy. The trends toward high-deductible health plans and greater consumer cost-sharing have exposed some people to medicines' full retail prices. Under this type of insurance design, many consumers are not benefitting from the rebates Lilly provides and might pay the full retail price until they meet their deductible and a percentage of the retail price thereafter.
We continue to advocate for insurers to pass through our negotiated rebates directly to consumers at the pharmacy counter.
The current rebate system needs to be reformed. Insurers should pass through the negotiated discounts and rebates directly to consumers. Doing so could save commercially insured patients with high deductibles and coinsurance more than $800 annually and would increase premiums by 1 percent or less.
A rebate pass-through would lower patients’ out-of-pocket costs at the pharmacy counter, with the greatest benefit realized by patients taking more highly rebated products, such as insulin.
First Dollar Coverage
Lilly is supportive of efforts to exempt health care services for chronic conditions – including medicines such as insulins – from a health insurance plan’s deductible (“first dollar coverage”).
The Department of Treasury/Internal Revenue Service recently released guidance confirming that HDHPs may provide coverage of insulin and other listed chronic disease medicines without first satisfying the minimum deductible otherwise required for HDHPs.
Medicare Part D OOP Caps
Lilly supports legislative action to cap out-of-pocket costs for patients in Medicare Part D. We believe a cap would provide a critical financial safeguard for patients, leading to better treatment adherence and improvements in overall health status.
Absent legislation around rebate pass-through and first dollar coverage, employers can play a key role in patient access and affordability by offering benefits that help reduce their own employees' medical costs. As an employer, Lilly provides the following benefits in our employee health plans:
- Prescription drug rebates are passed through to the consumer at the pharmacy counter to help our employees, retirees, and their families with their OOP medicine costs. In 2018, more than 11,000 Lilly employees, retirees and their families benefited – and their costs were reduced by more than $2 million.
- Preventive and chronic disease medications, such as insulin, are exempted from the deductible of our employees’ health plans to ensure there are no barriers for accessing medicines critical to their overall health and well-being. Beginning in 2020, Lilly will reduce co-insurance to zero for insulins, meaning our plan participants will pay nothing at all.
- Contributions are made to employees’ and their families’ Health Savings or Health Reimbursement accounts at the beginning of the year, with funds available immediately.
- Eligible employees and their family members with diabetes are provided a free connected glucose meter and related supplies, along with real-time support from trained diabetes educators.


text:
The Tech Company May Force An Old Fruit Company To Change Its Logo
- by timelesscity
African Americans need to apply for more jobs in order to find one. There is evidence of bias against women for traditionally male jobs and against men for typically female ones. Josh Brenner, CEO of Hired, said there has been more focus on including a more representative set across races. While the data is moving in the right direction, the representation of women and nonwhite individuals is still an issue. According to Hired’s findings, bias hiring is to blame for the tech industry’s workforce gender and racial differences.
Third parties can sell their products on the platform by paying royalties. The company can receive all earnings thanks to the Trendy Beat feature. The representative of TikTok said that they were still experimenting with new shopping features and that they were always looking for new ways to improve their community. The investigation found that HiSilicon sells its chips to third party vendors who then sell them to government customers. The chips have not been audited or certified and could potentially contain vulnerabilities that could compromise the security of the users.
The tech industry’s low percentage of women and Black Americans is documented and slow to improve. Women make up less than a third of the tech industry, and Black Americans make up less than 5% of the tech workforce. A partnership has been announced between a South Korean gaming company and an automotive icon.
The hack poses a serious risk of identity theft and fraud for the victims and is one of the largest in US history. The personal data of millions of Americans who applied for driver’s Tech News licenses or vehicle registration has been compromised. We wake up, drink coffee, get ready for work, and check our tech. Here are a few stories from around the tech world that fit into the first cup. Before you step out of your door and into the real world this morning, you need to know these things.
A European consumer group urged the EU to investigate the potential harms of generative artificial intelligence, a technology that can create realistic content such as images, text and audio. Although it was created to compete with other online services, the product never gained much traction or popularity among users. As part of its ongoing efforts to focus on its core products and services, Google decided to sell its.com domain to Squarespace. The Department of Homeland Security is also involved in the investigation.
The gap between what Germany had offered in subsidies and what Intel needed was too big, but Gelsinger said he expected to reach an agreement. Last year, Intel announced plans to build a big chip complex in Germany and facilities in Ireland and France as it seeks to benefit from easier European Commission funding rules and subsidies. The EU wants to reduce its dependence on Asian chips. Berlin is talking with Taiwan’s TSMC and Sweden’s electric vehicle battery maker Northvolt about setting up production in Germany. The vision of a vibrant, sustainable, leading edge Semiconductor industry in Germany and the EU was fulfilled by the government and state of Saxony Anhalt, according to Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger.
Many women and people of color don’t get interview invitations because of bias, according to a new study. The report that threw light on the Indian culture of nicknames was the inspiration for the two new lenses. The practice of owning a nickname is more common in India than one might think. A report on nicknames has been released. The new “My Nickname IN” and “In Top Nicknames” will be available in India on June 21.
Trendy Beat is a new section of TikTok that sells products from popular videos. All items advertised are manufactured in Singapore by a subsidiary of ByteDance. HR professionals are in high demand due to the fact that they are able to reduce the impact on employees. According to a report by ZDNet, the HR professionals are turning to Artificial Intelligence for help since some conversations can be difficult. Thomson Reuters is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people each day.
There Are Top Stories
Users can long press on images while browsing to access the Lens feature in the Chrome browser. New features for the chrome browser on theios include integrated lens support The tech giant announced that users will soon be able to use their device’s camera to search for images, both newly captured and existing ones in their camera roll.
Discover The Stories That Interest You
He said it was the right time for him to step down as the company looks to spin off its advanced cloud computing unit. Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Textiles and Consumer Affairs, Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday that the manufacturing of Apple iPhones in India is expected to increase to 25 per cent. Seven per cent of iPhones are assembled in India, which is expected to grow further.
The government in Berlin is investing billions of euros in subsidies to lure tech companies, amid growing alarm over supply chain fragility and dependence on South Korea and Taiwan for chips The Indian mobile market has immense potential due to the rapid adoption of 5G technology according to the findings of the report. The number of 5G mobile subscriptions in India will reach 10 million by the end of the year. According to the study, this figure will increase to around 700 million by the end of the year, making up over half of all mobile subscriptions in the country. The voices of loved ones can be mimicked by a new generative artificial intelligence model. The product can speak six languages.
African Americans need to apply for more jobs in order to find one. There is evidence of bias against women for traditionally male jobs and against men for typically female ones. Josh Brenner, CEO of Hired, said there has been more focus on including a more representative set across races. While the data is moving…
- There Are Greater Than Four Hundred Critiques Of Nike Com
- Ipcoop Login Is Possible
- How Do I Get My Pals To Affix Me? The Group Of Apples
- Politics Is Just Plain Political Dialogue Forums
- Mp3buzz Is An Online Web Site For Music In Nigeria
- Home Authentic Oil Work, Artists, Artwork Exhibitions, Art Galleries And Artwork History
- There Is A Case For Help
- There Is A Starmedia
- Bigg Boss 10, Weekend Ka Vaar, 22 January, 2017: Salman, Shah Rukh, Sunny Leone Recreate
- Website Pumaslovecom
- It Is Possible To Look At Free On-line English Dubbed Opera
- Lie No Better Is A Free Obtain
- Lie No Better Is A Free Obtain


text:
What's going on?
German carmaker BMW gave a disappointing outlook for the rest of the year on Wednesday.
What does this mean?
BMW barely produced any more cars last quarter than it did during the same time in 2021, with chip shortages slowing production to a crawl. That must’ve been especially frustrating given that orders – particularly for EV models, which are on track to make up 10% of all BMW’s deliveries this year – were at a record high. It’ll be hard not to look at that as a missed opportunity: the carmaker said demand was already starting to slow down, particularly as European customers contend with rising inflation and interest rates. And since BMW thinks this dynamic and the aforementioned chip shortage will stick around, the carmaker was pretty dispirited about its outlook for the rest of the year. Investors know the feeling: they sent its stock down 6%.
Why should I care?
The bigger picture: BMW is a warning light.
BMW’s outlook was in contrast to rival Mercedes, which said last week that it’s expecting orders to hold up this year. And while Peugeot-parent Stellantis admitted demand would fall eventually, it was confident that this year would be fine. So it’s not like investors were naive to the possibility that an economic downturn would impact the industry: they just thought they had till 2023 before the cracks started to show.
Zooming out: Eat the rich.
Europe’s gas shortage is set to hit harder in the next few months, which will make things even more complicated for carmakers like BMW. For consumers too, which might be why the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday that European governments should pass price increases on to wealthier individuals and shield the poorest with targeted relief. That, it thinks, will encourage people to save more energy or switch to greener alternatives (tweet this).


text:
Exactly a year ago, we unveiled the latest StanceWorks build: a 1982 BMW E28 Group A tribute dubbed “the Parts Car.” Inspired by BMW’s ETCC racing efforts of the early 1980s, the E28 is an exercise in celebrating history, restoration, preservation, and most importantly, the embodiment of everything that makes the original M5 a one-of-a-kind machine.
This year, we’re back, and if you ask us, it’s better than ever before.
Believe it or not, it’s not all vintage cars here at the StanceWorks HQ. While over the past few years, Andrew and I have done little to bring new steel through the shop door, it doesn’t come unwelcome. Just a handful of weeks ago, the team at H&R dropped off their latest project vehicle: the all-new Focus RS, and along with it came free reign to do as we liked… Well, to some degree, at least.
Photography by Courtney Cutchen
“When you put the ‘CSL’ name on your vanity plate, its not something to be taken lightly,” Shafique Bhimani tells me with a humble sense of confidence. It’s not as though pride has gone to his head; instead, it’s clear he knows what he’s built. Shafique’s E36 leaves no bolt left unturned, and his widespread and comprehensive followthrough on the “CSL” mentality is clear: somewhere between power and prowess lies one of the best E36s we’ve seen.
Today, BMW has unveiled the latest product of their racing efforts: the 2016 M6 GTLMs in their final liveries. Numbered 25 and 100, and emblazoned with colorways and designs of heritage and importance, the pair of cars is set to make their racing debut this weekend at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona. Tomorrow, Andrew departs for Florida, where he’ll set up trackside and photograph them on their way to what we hope will be their first win.
For many, driving season ends shortly after the leaves turn and fall from their branches. Sports cars are tucked away in garages to protect them from the sleet, snow, ice, salt, and the chaos that ensues. Few are willing to keep their pride and joy on the road through the harsh winter months, and for them, the monotony of the “daily driver” brings forth the slow and painful wait for spring. However, Asim and Larry at Livery Wheel have taken a radically different approach.


text:
Posted on June 20, 2019 at 9:08 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek
Over 20,000 people have signed a petition seeking to cancel the show Good Omens because they believe it promotes Satanism ... but sent it to the wrong streaming service.
Amazon Prime is the producer of the adaptation of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s 1990 novel; the Return to Order campaign sent its complaints to Netflix.
While Netflix is unlikely to cancel a show it doesn’t offer, Neil Gaiman did respond to the news on Twitter:
Categories: Today in Books


text:
Following the changes we made to comply with the European Commission’s ruling last year, we’ll start presenting new screens to Android users in Europe with an option to download search apps and browsers.
These new screens will be displayed the first time a user opens Google Play after receiving an upcoming update. Two screens will surface: one for search apps and another for browsers, each containing a total of five apps, including any that are already installed. Apps that are not already installed on the device will be included based on their popularity and shown in a random order.
This all seems very similar to the browser choice window Microsoft displayed in Windows for a while. It will be available to both new and existing Android users within the EU.


text:
And now, the latest from Racked, covering shopping and retail from the sidewalks up.
1) Meatpacking: While absolutely no one was paying attention, Diane Von Furstenberg went ahead and soft-opened her new Meatpacking District palace last weekend: "Although customers are now allowed in, the space isn't completely finished, as the store's four VIP dressing rooms still need to be built." Plan accordingly (and click through for more pix).
2) Soho: While the rest of the neighborhood calmly goes about its business of self-destructing, the Broadway/Prince edition of Dean and DeLuca has signed a new 15-year lease on the space. And get this: they're thinking basement expansion.
3) Cobble Hill: There's nothing simultaneously sadder, and yet more joyously invigorating, than a shuttered Blockbuster.
4) Chelsea: Finally, live from the front lines of yesterday's debut of Kate Moss' TopShop line at Barney's: "At 11am, they raised the gate and all 40 plus of us filed inside, unaware of the disappointment that would soon follow." More on the massive joke that this event became, here.


text:
ServiceMax Inc. has taken $71 million in a late-stage investment, arming itself to be the dominant supplier of software to millions of field-service technicians.
The company expects to bring in between $50 million and $100 million in revenue this year, according to Chief Executive David Yarnold. Its applications are designed to organize the workflow of technicians who maintain and fix equipment from MRI machines to conveyor belts to printers.
This sector is growing as service contracts have become a crucial source of revenue for equipment manufacturers. ServiceMax’s customers include General Electric Co., Tyco International Ltd. and Medtronic Inc.
In this morning’s Web roundup, Asset Management Co. has split into two firms. Fisker Automotive lost more than 300 of its cars due to flooding in Hurricane Sandy. Also, Evernote is in no rush to go public.
Produced by the editors of Dow Jones VentureWire, Venture Capital Dispatch tracks the fast-moving developments at the intersection of high-tech innovation and venture capital finance. Featuring the VentureWire reporting team in the Silicon Valley, New York, Boston and Shanghai tech centers, Venture Capital Dispatch provides insight into the newest start-ups and latest trends in venture capital investing. Write us at VCdispatch@dowjones.com. For more information on Dow Jones products covering venture capital and other financial markets, go to www.fis.dowjones.com.


text:
Bolstered by the sales of the Ford Fusion hybrid and recent introduction of the new Prius hybrid, sales of hybrid models as a whole are still on the rise despite dwindling sales in other vehicle segments.
Overall, hybrid sales are up 9 percent this June compared to last year and up an additional 2 percent compared to May. New cars sales as whole are down 28 percent from last June and 7 percent from May of this year. How can hybrid models far so well in this poor car buying market?
The answer really lies in the introduction of several key new models including the Fusion hybrid, the new Prius, and the new Insight. These models have shown strong sales numbers in this weak economy. Partially because they offer great fuel economy, partially because they are offered at comparatively low prices.
Additionally, hybrid sales are sparked by all kinds of government incentives that offer buyers money back for their purchases. Gas prices are down this year compared to the $4 price paid last summer, but despite what many think that hybrid and electric vehicle sales are tied directly to the price of gas, this does not appear to be the case.
With low gas prices, consumers should be switching back to gas guzzling vehicles, but this has certainly not happened. Buyers seem concerned with the uncertainty of gas prices and are not willing to risk buying large, inefficient vehicles because gas prices may once again rise up.
With total hybrid sales exceeding 300,000 units last year, they now have a significant market share which is constantly on the rise. Consumers seem to be accepting of hybrid models and sales numbers support the claim that hybrids are hot.


text:
British sports car maker Morgan has unveiled the Plus Six, its first all-new model in 19 years.
It may look the same as the Morgan roadsters that preceded it, but the Plus Six is all new underneath. It is now based on the company’s CX-Generation bonded aluminium platform, which is claimed to be twice as rigid as the architecture that it replaces.
Under the long bonnet is a 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six engine sourced from BMW. Known as the ‘B58’, the engine produces 250kW of power and 500Nm and torque – the same outputs as the BMW Z4 and Toyota Supra, which utilise the same powerplant.
It drives the rear wheels through an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission (a manual gearbox is in the works) – thanks to the Morgan’s low 1075kg kerb weight, it can sprint from 0-100km/h in 4.2 seconds, towards a top speed of 267km/h.
Visually, the Plus Six stays true to the classic Morgan formula, with the same freestanding headlights, portrait grille and simple lines. Inside, there’s a new digital display located between the dials, in addition to the BMW-derived automatic shifter and selectable driving modes.
The Morgan Plus Six goes on sale later this year in Europe, priced from £77,995 in the UK.


text:
PARIS — Boosted by what it described as a “very good fourth quarter,” Hugo Boss said it achieved its targets for 2018.
The German apparel group saw its preliminary sales increase 7 percent to 783 million euros in the three months ended Dec. 31 compared with the prior-year quarter, or 6 percent in local currencies.
Growth was seen for both its wholesale and retail activities, the firm said, with Asia-Pacific its fastest-growing region on a comparable-store basis. Sales there increased 4 percent to 124 million euros. In Europe, the company’s biggest market, sales in the U.K. and France benefited from delivery shifts, growing at double digits, while business in Germany remained stable in what the firm described as a “challenging market environment.” Fourth-quarter revenues in Europe, the Middle East and Africa were up 8 percent to 458 million euros. In the Americas, sales increased 6 percent to 177 million euros.
Hugo Boss’ online business, meanwhile, increased 37 percent when adjusted for currency effects, its fifth consecutive quarter of solid double-digit growth.
Preliminary sales for the full year increased 2 percent on a reported basis to 2.8 billion euros, and were up 4 percent on a constant-currency basis, with the group’s own retail business the major contributor to growth.
Anticipating stable operating income for the year at around 491 million euros, Hugo Boss will publish its final results for 2018 on March 7.


text:
|Using a mobile phone is likely to ease queues|
Google is set to introduce a mobile payments platform that will turn its Android smartphones into a digital wallet.
At an event in New York on Thursday, the tech giant is expected to show off the technology, called near field communication or NFC.
The technology allows devices to “talk” to one another wirelessly.
Consumers wave their phones in front of a reader at a checkout to pay for a purchase or to receive special offers.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that the program will initially be launched in New York and San Francisco before being extended more widely across the US.
While Google has made no comment on the reports, it has sent out invitations to the press asking them to attend an event at its New York offices where it will show off its “latest innovations”.
Mobile network operator Sprint is also expected to take part.
In January Google chairman Eric Schmidt wrote in a guest edition of the Harvard Business Review that mobile money was a key part of Google’s strategy for 2011.
“Phones, as we know, are used as banks in many poorer parts of the world – and modern technology means that their use as financial tools can go much further than that,” said Mr Schmidt.
Research firm Forrester has said it expects 40-50 million NFC-equipped phones to be sold in 2011.
Apple is reportedly planning to include the technology in its upcoming iPhone 5 which is expected to be unveiled at its developer conference next month.
Microsoft is also said to be making plans to incorporate NFC in future Windows phones, as is Blackberry maker RIM.
Samsung and Visa have said they will facilitate mobile payments via NFC on smartphones during the summer Olympics in London next year.
“Google’s Nexus S device that it recently announced is the first Android-powered device supporting NFC and we expect NFC is going to increasingly become a default feature of every smartphone that is sold over the next couple of years,” Charles Govlin, principal analyst at Forrester, told BBC News.
Market researcher Gartner said with the total value of mobile transactions reaching $245bn in 2014, demand for mobile wallet services would be huge.
But not everyone is convinced that contactless payments using a phone will replace cash.
“In my view, while I think it is clear that potentially these phone-based transactions will be widespread, it will happen slowly, one reason being that consumer behaviour changes very slowly,” said Mr Govlin.
“The big beneficiary here will be Google, a company that is all about information. The metadata involved in such transactions could allow Google to serve ads and make you a more valuable target for advertisers,” he added.
Last week the first NFC service was announced in the United Kingdom involving Orange and Barclaycard.
Mobile wallet services have been available in Japan for a number of years.


text:
For some companies used to riding high find that falling out of Favor is often a mystery and can be as difficult to understand as what it took to gain favor. It is often quicker and easier to fall out of favor.
Sometimes all it takes is a simple mistep or a damaging rumor and the seemingly endless good fortunes of a company can begin to race dramatically in reverse after years of success maintaining customer faith and loyalty.
What is also known is that it is much much harder to regain favor after a fall from grace.
Once customer faith and trust is breached or major errors are unearthed it is extremely hard to guage just how deep and profound the negative impact and affects are.
Apple is the latest company learning this bitter lesson. Their faux paux over the maps debacle has sent Apple reeling and doing serious damage control.
What will come of it is uncertain at this time. Samsung, Google and others are hoping this trips up the market leader. At least enough to allow them to get a foothold in the marketplace where they couldn’t prior to Apple’s bad move. Observers are not surprised that Apple fell but are interested in how they will react without a Steve Jobs at the helm.


text:
Waitrose & Partners has hit its target to remove black plastic from hundreds of products as part of its overall aim to eradicate black plastic from all its own-label products.
The retailer has now removed hard-to-recycle black plastic on its fresh meat, fish, poultry, fruit and veg – amounting to a reduction of over 1,300 tonnes of black plastic per annum.
This progress now means Waitrose & Partners is more than half-way to achieving its goal to remove black plastic on all its own brand products by the end of 2019.
The majority of black plastic packaging is coloured using carbon black pigments which do not enable the pack to be easily sorted by the systems widely used in plastics recycling. As a result, black plastic packaging can commonly end up as residue and disposed of in landfill.
Tor Harris, Head of CSR, Health & Agriculture for Waitrose & Partners, said: “Eliminating black plastic is a priority for us. While removing it we have also taken the opportunity to reduce the amount of plastic of any colour by removing trays from fruit and veg like apples, broccoli and pak choi.
“We are making progress all the time and are determined to maintain our momentum which is why we’re now looking at ready meals and other products so we can achieve our aim of removing all black plastic from our own-label products by the end of 2019.”
A recent example of packaging innovation to eradicate the use of black plastic include the retailer’s Duchy organic tomato packaging which partly uses punnets made from tomato vines, which would otherwise have gone to waste, with recycled cardboard.
Customers shopping at Waitrose & Partners are also being encouraged to bring reusable containers to take home products from the supermarket’s fresh service counters to help save plastic bags.
Shoppers at the supermarket have been able to bring their own clean, lidded containers to take home their fresh meat and fish rather than taking a plastic bag for some time, but signs have now gone up in all stores with meat and fish counters to increase awareness of the policy.
Encouraging customers to adopt reusables forms a key part of the retailer’s packaging and plastic reduction strategy. Last year it removed all disposable cups from its stores so myWaitrose members now have to bring their own reusable cup to claim their free tea and coffee, a move which saves 52 million cups a year.
The Global Good Awards 2019 are now open!
There are 13 categories to choose from including Environmental Behaviour Change, Sustainable Supply Chain and Good Employer of the Year. And remember entry fees are only charged when you submit your entry. There are no fees to pay for starting an application.


text:
July 5, 2007 ~ Brian Krebs - "... Much has been written about radical Islamic groups' use of the Internet to propagandize and recruit new members. The U.K. investigation, however, revealed a significant link between Islamic terrorist groups and cyber crime, and experts say security officials must do more to understand and confront cyber crime as part of any overall strategy for combatting terrorism. Investigators in the United States and Britain say the trio used computer viruses and stolen credit card accounts to set up a network of communication forums and Web sites that hosted everything from tutorials on computer hacking and bomb-making to videos of beheadings and suicide bombing attacks in Iraq... "In short, the terrorist Web site was the most legitimate site on the server," Weisburd said. "In an age when people sign themselves up for the cause and make a good faith effort to try and kill people, credit card fraud and identity theft is a crime [terrorist sympathizers] can get into from the privacy of their own home. Pretty much wherever there are jihadists active online, you will also find guys engaged in online fraud"..."
Edited by apluswebmaster, 06 July 2007 - 03:22 AM.


text:
CCP Games has announced that its upcoming DUST 514, the first-person shooter set in the EVE Online universe, will be a PS3 exclusive and shall be released in Summer of 2012. The game allows players to duke it out for control of planets, etc while other players engage in space battles high above. The game will feature both subscription based and pre-paid options. “The ability for Sony Computer Entertainment to partner with a developer like CCP, known for pushing the boundaries of creativity and innovation in the MMO genre, holds tremendous potential for the PlayStation 3 community,” said Rob Dyer,…
Here are some images from Sony’s E3 2011 press event which took place earlier today. During the event, Sony announced that their next-gen handheld unit which had previously been known as NGP (Next Generation Portable) was now officially known as the PlayStation Vita.
38 Studios and Big Huge Games have released their official E3 2011 trailer for Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning. The game set in a fantasy world, is the first game from 38 studios and as a hefty cast behind it. Writing the story is the creator of all things fantasy R.A. Salvatore and the art direction is done by Spawn’s Todd Mcfarlane. Check out the trailer below and the game when it releases in 2012. [stream provider=youtube flv=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D2okuehnPN50 img=x:/img.youtube.com/vi/2okuehnPN50/0.jpg embed=false share=false width=640 height=360 dock=true controlbar=over bandwidth=high autostart=false /]
More news coming out of E3 2011 as Twisted Pixel has released their official trailer for The Gunstringer. You are the puppet master controlling a marionette skeleton cowboy in a western world. The game is made for Kinect and offers tons of adventure in 2D and 3D levels. The Gunstringer releases later this year for the Xbox 360 system. [stream provider=youtube flv=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D7eFowDifhD4 img=x:/img.youtube.com/vi/7eFowDifhD4/0.jpg embed=false share=false width=640 height=360 dock=true controlbar=over bandwidth=high autostart=false /]
Showcased at their 2011 E3 press conference, Ea Sports released a brand new trailer for the re-boot of SSX. The game will feature satellite mapped locations and 3 game modes of extreme snowboarding. SSX hits store shelves sometime in 2012. [stream provider=youtube flv=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DWSW-WF5r3QY img=x:/img.youtube.com/vi/WSW-WF5r3QY/0.jpg embed=false share=false width=640 height=360 dock=true controlbar=over bandwidth=high autostart=false /]
Rockstar Games announced today that LA Noire: The Collected Stories is now available across all digital book platforms. From now until June 12th, the anthology will be free for anyone who wishes to delve deeper into the seedy crime world of LA Noire. Authors with stories in the anthology include such renowned writers as Megan Abbott, Lawrence Block, Joe Lansdale, Joyce Carol Oates, Francine Prose, Jonathan Santlofer, Duane Swierczynski and Andrew Vachss. 1940s Hollywood, murder, deception and mystery take center stage as readers reintroduce themselves to characters seen in L.A. Noire. Explore the lives of actresses desperate for the Hollywood…
505 Games announced today that their new modern combat shooter “Blackwater” will be an exclusive to the Xbox’s Kinect system. the game gives the player the ability to use either a controller or go hands free using Kinect. “This game and its immersive Kinect-based approach will give players the chance to experience what it is like to be on a Blackwater team on a mission without being dropped into a real combat situation,” said Prince. “The Blackwater team is comprised of an amazing group of individuals and we’re proud to work with them to create a video game that showcases…
This afternoon after their E3 press conference Major Nelson announced the lineup for this year’s 2011 Xbox Live Summer of Arcade. Take a look at what’s hitting the marketplace starting July 20th for Xbox owners. “Toy Soldiers: Cold War” (Signal Studios/Microsoft Studios). Jump into the fray with playful ’80s combat action in “Toy Soldiers: Cold War.” Bring your favorite action toys to life and wage war against the red menace. Need backup? Call in a friend for co-op campaign action on the couch or over Xbox LIVE. Take a break from the main battle with Survival mode and playful minigames….
This was taken at today’s Ubisoft E3 2011 press event – it shows off the first gameplay footage seen of Far Cry 3.
Ubisoft has announced Far Cry 3 at their E3 2011 press event this afternoon. The game is being developed by Ubisoft’s Montreal Studio (with support from Massive and Ubisoft Shanghai) and will return the series to the island locale as gamers play as Jason Brody – a man marooned on a tropical island. If you recall, Crytek began the Far Cry series on an island setting back in 2004. “Far Cry 3 brings something new and unexpected, while still building upon the foundations of excellence that are inherent to the Far Cry brand,” said Dan Hay, producer at Ubisoft Montréal….
BioWare, EA, and Microsoft have unveiled the box art for the upcoming third part in the Mass Effect storyline. Mass Effect 3 will feature an Earth under siege by Reapers and Shepard will be the only thing that stands between us and annihilation. Box Art
Courtesy of those lovely people at IGN, here is the full nine minute demo of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, taken from the Microsoft E3 press event this morning – enjoy!
SEGA has released some new screenshots from their upcoming actioner, Renegade Ops. Screenshots
From Electronic Arts E3 2011 press event this morning comes a new video showing off the features of the new Frostbite 2 engine being used on their forthcoming Battlefield 3.


text:
With the war in Ukraine entering its third week, Humble Bundle is releasing a charity game bundle with all proceeds supporting relief efforts in the country. In the announcement, Humble wrote:
Today, Humble has joined forces with game creators, book publishers, and software makers from around the globe to launch the Stand With Ukraine Bundle that will give 100% of its proceeds to support the humanitarian efforts in Ukraine through charity partners: Razom for Ukraine, International Rescue Committee, International Medical Corps, and Direct Relief.
The bundle features over 120 games, books, and software, including the Spyro Reignited Trilogy and Back 4 Blood, the Pathfinder and Warhammer rule books, and a 12-month license for GameMaker Studio 2.
Gamers and developers all over the world have banded together in support of the Ukrainian people. Several of the big publishers have limited or ceased business in Russia, while developers are halting sales of their games in the country. Earlier this month, itch.io creators organized a charity bundle of over 900 games, software, music, and more, and it has so far earned over $6 million.
The bundle will be on sale a minimum donation of $40 through March 25th.


text:
2005: Pregnant Woman Trampled At Walmart
This video of a pregnant woman getting knocked down by a stampede of shoppers at a Michigan Walmart will haunt you forever. She was taken to the hospital and turned out to be OK, thankfully.
2007: Crowd Gets Pepper Sprayed For an Xbox 360
An Xbox is a pretty dope system and all, but pepper spraying a crowd of people over one calls for an intervention. A crazed womanpulled out her pepper spray to ward off other shoppers after workers at a Los Angeles Walmart pulled out a crate full of discounted Xbox 360s. About 20 people were injured.
2008: Worker Killed
Anovernight employee was killed after being trampled by eager shoppers at a Long Island Walmart. As if this story couldn't be even more horrifying, four other people were injured, including a pregnant woman.
2008: Shoppers Shot Dead at Toys 'R' Us
A toy store is the last place you'd expect to become deadly, except on the busiest shopping day of the year. Two menshot each other to death after the women with them got into a bloody brawl over toys (toys, guys) at a California Toys 'R' Us.
2012: Huge Crowd Busts Down Metal Detectors at Urban Outfitters
The dudes who filmed this video sound like they were sitting back and eating popcorn as they enjoyed watching this crowd go crazy at a California Urban Outfitters last year. Their door buster sales must have been out of this world. Four people were injured.
2012: Death Threats at Sears
A San Antonio man cut the line at a Sears store last year, getting into a brawl with another shopper. He then allegedly pulled out a gunon the guy who attacked him.
Moral of the story: just stay home and eat turkey, guys.
Follow Ariel on Twitter.


text:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wireless phone customers have enjoyed lower prices and better coverage despite reduced competition from years of consolidation in the $150 billion industry, a U.S. report said on Thursday.
The Government Accountability Office, the audit arm of the U.S. Congress, said consolidation has led to domination of the sector by AT&T Inc, Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel Corp and T-Mobile USA Inc.
“Industry consolidation has made it more difficult for small and regional carriers to be competitive,” the GAO said in a wireless competition report.
However, consolidation may have helped the biggest carriers become more efficient, allowing them to offer more services for similar or lower prices while improving coverage, it said.
The findings come as the Federal Communications Commission considers ways to spur competition in the wireless industry.
Under recommendations made in the FCC’s National Broadband Plan in March, the agency is considering ways to provide more airwaves to wireless companies to meet a growing demand for mobile devices. It is trying to determine if a lack of competition plays a role in meeting the demand.
Citing Consumer Price Index data for average prices of goods and services, the overall average price for wireless services declined each year from 1999 to 2008, the GAO said.
Average prices in 2009 were half the prices in 1999, it said.
“This illustrates that consumers are generally getting more wireless services (such as more voice minutes of use) for lower costs than they were 10 years ago,” the GAO said.
The report’s conclusions on pricing are good news for the wireless industry, which has been under siege from lawmakers, regulators and consumer groups complaining about the lack of competition.
At the same time, the GAO’s findings on competition bolster a May report by the FCC that for the first time since 2002 did not describe the wireless industry as having “effective competition.”
The mixed results create uncertainty about whether regulators will have the support to impose new policies and regulations to increase competition for consumers who are demanding more data plans on their mobile handsets to surf the Internet and watch videos.
According to the GAO, the number of wireless subscribers exploded to 285 million at the end of 2009 from just 3.5 million a decade ago. Nearly 40 percent of U.S. households now rely primarily on wireless devices for phone calls, it added.
The GAO report also could help shape the terms of the next set of major auctions of airwaves for an industry largely dominated by AT&T and Verizon Wireless, a venture between Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group Plc.
Sprint and T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG, are seeking more airwaves to better compete against AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
More spectrum could potentially be available to wireless companies if the FCC can wrest some from broadcasters and the Commerce Department can persuade U.S. government agencies to part with some that are not being used or are being used inefficiently.
Reporting by John Poirier; editing by John Wallace
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


text:
October 2019 – Tipp City, OH – Proto Plastics, a low volume plastic injection molding and contract manufacturing company specializing in technically demanding, close tolerance parts and assemblies, has been acquired by Thogus Products Company. Thogus is a premier medium to high volume plastic injection molding company and contract manufacturer.
The addition of Proto Plastics and its low volume focus enables the Thogus family of companies to provide end-to-end product and service offerings to the entire plastics industry. Proto Plastics fills a strategic niche that Thogus has been missing, according to Thogus CEO Matt Hlavin.
“PPI’s a low-volume molder and we’re medium- to high-volume. We used to refer out several million dollars in low-volume business, and then we found Proto and that’s what they do. So we’re going to capture that business,” Hlavin said.
Hlavin said Proto Plastics will continue to operate under its own name in Tipp City, where the firm employs 31 and runs 17 injection molding machines in a 65,000-square-foot plant. Proto Plastics has more than 80 customers in a wide range of industries, including automotive, aerospace, medical, electronics, telecommunications, industrial and business equipment, government/defense, safety, construction and instrumentation, and control.
In total after the acquisition, Thogus will have over 200,000 sq. feet of manufacturing and warehouse space along with 52 molding machines and 12 3D printing machines across three facilities.
MBS Advisors represented Proto Plastics in the transaction. MBS met Tom Gagnon, President of Proto Plastics, several years ago at the annual Benchmarking and Best Practices Conference in Indianapolis put on by the Manufacturers Association for Plastics Processors (MAPP). MBS was formally engaged by Proto Plastics in early 2019 as an exclusive sell-side advisor.
Excerpts from above were taken from Thogus’ press release and an article written in Plastics News.


text:
SALISBURY, Md. - Remember that old saying, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away"? The latest medical research is touting a different fruit - grapes - the key ingredient to wine. And it seems Americans are taking note.
According to new research, the United States is now the number one consumer of wine in the world. Meanwhile, Americans are drinking less beer: nearly 11 percent less since the start of the recession.
But it is a different story when it comes to wine. Last year, Americans guzzled a record 3.7 billion bottles of wine.
Some Delmarva businesses said they have definitely noticed the boom on the peninsula.
Whenever Jeff Trivits and his crew stock up for diners at Sobo's Wine and Beerstro in Salisbury, they want to make sure their shelves are full. There is a good reason why.
"Wine sales here locally have definitely increased," Trivits explained.
In fact, Sobo's saw an 11 percent increase in wine sales from 2010 to 2011; a statistic shedding light on a nationwide trend.
"When Sobo's was opened, I don't think there was that strong of a wine base in this area. The opening of a lot of local wineries have given the locals more understanding of wine, more appreciation of wine," Trivits said.
Down the street, Vinny Bellia, owner of Vinny's La Roma, said the same thing. He is selling more bottles of wine than in past years and he thinks he might know why.
"Doctors and everyone keep saying it's good for your health, it lowers your cholesterol. And personally, I like wine with my dinner more than beer, cause it blows you up."
Local wine lovers agree.
"I love the way it complements my food. I'm not really into hard liquor or beers and it's a relaxing, soothing drink that also has a lot of health benefits as a woman," said Katie Pusey of Seaford.
And some say there may be other reasons we are pouring more glasses.
"Because of the way the economy is in this country today and people are under so much stress that I think it kind of helps you relax and maybe it's not as harmful as something stronger," noted Salisbury resident Jane Youngk.
Saturday, May 18 2013 10:19 AM EDT2013-05-18 14:19:20 GMT
DELMAR, Del-This week WBOC has been following the discussion about adding two more casinos in Delaware; one of them being in Sussex County. A house committee in the First State put a plan for two moreMore
This week WBOC has been following the discussion about adding two more casinos in Delaware; one of them being in Sussex County. A House committee in the First State put a plan for two more casinos temporarily on hold.More
Two Ocean City brother, Samir and Basel Ramadan, are behind bars. Federal officals say the two are ringleaders of a cigarette smuggling ring that netted millions. Police have arrested 15 people in this case - and now they're trying to find out where is all the money. As WBOC's LeAnne Matach reports, neighbors of the two brother say they are shocked that something like this was happening in their community.More


text:
Need For Speed Most Wanted Walkthrough - Bear - Opening Design
Young women can't get out of new fashion models.
You'll never want to be in legal three years with a simple, completely super-safe business. By: David
A new website at the Washington Post finds that the kids raise gay and middle class students in their homes.


text:
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands – JDE Peet’s today announced that Morningstar Sustainalytics, a leading ESG ratings provider, has upgraded the company’s ESG (environmental, social, and governance) rating to the top 4th percentile within the Packaged Foods subindustry. JDE Peet’s improved its scores across all 11 assessment categories which Sustainalytics applies, with the biggest improvements in “Occupational Health and Safety”, “Carbon – Own Operations” and “Human Rights – Supply Chain”.
In its related report, Sustainalytics noted: “The company has very strong ESG reporting and has board level oversight for ESG issues. Moreover, a strong whistleblower programme is in place and the environmental policy is also assessed as strong. The company’s overall management of material ESG issues is strong.”
“At JDE Peet’s, we are committed to unlocking the possibilities of coffee and tea to create a better future through our sustainability programme, Common Grounds”, said Laurent Sagarra, Global Quality and Sustainability Director at JDE Peet’s.
“This core business objective cuts across the entirety of our operations through the amplification of our sustainability agenda. Sustainalytics’ recognition of the progress we continue to make is very encouraging and clear evidence that we are on the right path.”
About JDE Peet’s
JDE Peet’s is the world’s leading pure-play coffee and tea company, serving approximately 4,500 cups of coffee or tea per second. JDE Peet’s unleashes the possibilities of coffee and tea in more than 100 markets, with a portfolio of over 50 brands including L’OR, Peet’s, Jacobs, Senseo, Tassimo, Douwe Egberts, OldTown, Super, Pickwick and Moccona.
In 2021, JDE Peet’s generated total sales of EUR 7 billion and employed a global workforce of more than 19,000 employees. Read more about our journey towards a coffee and tea for every cup at www.jdepeets.com.


text:
Isn’t it frustrating that you only find out that you’ve exceeded your plan when you get your phone bill? It’s hard to actually keep track of how much you’ve already consumed, especially if you’re busy with important things in life like running a business, keeping your employees in check, keeping in contact with business partners. Even if you’re a normal person, just keeping constant communication with friends and family could actually gobble you up with massive phone bills. Don’t you wish your carrier would at least inform you?
Well now they pretty much have to, after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski threatened cellphone companies that they will step in to regulate cellphone charges to curb “bill shock” for wireless subscribers.
CTIA, a trade group representing the major cellphone companies, vows to warn subscribers before they go over their monthly limits for calling minutes, text messages and data use and to warn subscribers that they’re paying roaming fees if they travel abroad. The warnings will arrive automatically as text messages so subscribers don’t have to subscribe or signup to anything.
AT&T and Verizon already provide warning messages before consumers go over their data plan but unfortunately, the warning doesn’t include information if subscribers are about to go over their messaging or calls. Subscribers have to look it up.
If the FCC threatened cellphone companies, Research in Motion may have a treat for them. During the 3-day service outage, cellphone companies had to face the wrath of angry consumers who thought that their providers went bonkers. So RIM, aside from offering free premium apps to subscribers and free technical support for enterprise users, operators would also receive compensation for their trouble.
According to RIM Co-CEO Jim Balsillie on an interview with Bloomberg, “We’re very focused on these carriers and making sure they’re satisfied with the service operation and making sure we comply with all of our agreements with them and making sure we have their trust for the service going forward. This is our offer and we worked systemically over the last three days to make that. That was a pretty comprehensive set of efforts.”


text:
5 Key Trends Transforming Customer Conversations in 2021
In the face of a global health crisis, remote work, virtual learning, shutdowns and more, the way people live and work has fundamentally changed. For businesses, these changes have ushered in a new way of collaborating and engaging with customers.
In 5 Key Trends Transforming Customer Conversations in 2021, Smart Communications collected insight from industry thought leaders to uncover the long-term impact of the pandemic on the insurance, financial services and healthcare industries, plus the major trends that will impact how businesses interact with their customers in the months and years to come.
Download the white paper now to read exclusive insights from leaders at Pegasystems, Salesforce, Capgemini, Guidewire Software, Cognizant, Aragon Research, IDC, Aspire and Smart Communications.


text:
In this regular feature, we talk to small-business marketing experts about particularly challenging campaigns they have been involved with, and the strategies they employed to make those campaigns ultimately successful. In this issue, we find out how Cassandra Hili, of Millennium Communications, helped a restaurateur overcome the lack of foot traffic in Sydney’s CBD caused by COVID-19 restrictions.
Cassandra was approached by Howin Chui, a Sydney restaurateur and entrepreneur, to help restore the brand traction and presence for his three restaurants: Kowloon Stir Fry King, Ni Hao Bar and Kowloon Cafe. As a prominent member of the Chinatown community, Howin was keen to get more people into the area, and its other businesses, not just into his own restaurants. So, he was looking to Cassandra and her team at Millennium Communications to bring some attention to the lack of foot traffic in Chinatown.
“The ever-changing restrictions we had during those final weeks of lockdowns were a real problem,” Cassandra explains. “Because of the restrictions, people weren’t going into the city, and that was made worse by the lack of international travellers and the non-existence of tourism.”
“Cassandra’s strategy involved positioning Howin as a spokesperson for the wider Chinatown community.”
Cassandra’s strategy involved positioning Howin as a spokesperson for the wider Chinatown community. “Our campaign didn’t just become about the restaurants, it was also about bringing attention to how the CBD is suffering due to the COVID impacts and how more support was required to businesses in those local areas,” she explains.
“One of the most prominent prongs of the campaign was doing an activation,” Cassandra adds. “As Howin has a great relationship with Ettason [one of the largest distributors of Asian foods in Australia], we aligned with them for two events in two of the restaurants: Ni Hao Bar and Kowloon Stir Fry King.” Cassandra dubbed the activation ‘One Night in Hong Kong’, with both events involving media, influencers and celebrities. “The aim of the events was to highlight the COVID impacts that Chinatown is currently facing,” Cassandra explains. “We spoke about how Chinatown is a cultural destination that is now suffering, and how this once-iconic destination is currently undergoing loss.”
One Night in Hong Kong included a sit-down dinner where influencers, media members and celebrities ate dishes built around the Hong Kong food culture. “These events, especially the one we threw at Ni Hao Bar, took over social media and started to get the restaurants buzzing,” Cassandra says. She followed up with a media campaign to get the three restaurants into columns in appropriate publications.
To maintain the campaign’s impetus and give it validation, Cassandra leveraged Howin’s position as an advocate in the media for the struggles Chinatown was facing, a big part of which was caused by the lack of international students, who are usually such regular patrons of the precinct. “This really showcased Howin as someone who wanted to have a voice in the hospitality industry in Sydney, and as someone who wanted to create an impact for other businesses in the area that were also suffering,” Cassandra explains.
The strategies Cassandra employed have worked very well. “Whilst the CBD is still quiet and staff shortages are still causing an impact – things that are out of our control – Howin’s profile and his restaurants have definitely [received] a positive impact from the PR campaign,” she avers, adding that the initial campaign has led to many organic media opportunities for Howin and his restaurants.
One of the key lessons Cassandra has taken from her experience with this campaign, she says, is that it is important not to get overwhelmed by what may not be working, and to think creatively about what opportunities are there that you could be a part of. “Think of what conversations are currently happening that you can participate in, or, if a conversation needs to be had, think of different strategies for how you can bring some attention to that conversation,” she says. “And don’t be afraid to collaborate with other brands and other people if there is an alignment with your respective goals.”
This article first appeared in issue 36 of the Inside Small Business quarterly magazine


text:
It seems that earlier talks between Vodacom and Spotify to launch in South Africa have fallen apart, as latest reports from Bloomberg suggests that Deezer may have agreed a deal with the telecoms company to expand further into Africa, ahead of its rival.
TruSpot, the Africa-focused music social network has rolled out a major upgrade on its platform that allows users discover, listen and share songs from their favourite African music artists.
According to a report by Dallas-based market research firm, Parks Associates, video game consoles have become the leading device category for video streaming app use. The report, which surveyed 10,000 American homes in early 2014, found that 44 per cent of broadband-using respondents considered a game console as their “primary connected” device for accessing non-gaming Internet…
The Seaboard GRAND is the first new innovation in music technology in nearly four decades to have a real fighting chance at success, writes Hugo Beniada from Fueled.
Millicom has unveiled Tigo Music and Africa Music Rights, two initiatives that are intended to introduce its digital music experience into Africa. Tigo Music is set to launch across Millicom’s African operations, starting in Ghana in the fourth quarter. Bundled as part of pre-paid data plans, the service will offer unlimited music streaming with instant…
Telecommunications company, Airtel and music channel, TRACE have teamed up to launch what could become the biggest music competition in Africa, by allowing contestants to audition right from their phones for a chance to become the next big music star.
Playspread, a music intelligence company that deals with media monitoring and big data analytics has released a State of the Nigerian Music Industry infographic for the period May-July 2014.
iROKOtv.com today announced that it has licensed two of the top award-winning Hollywood drama TV series — Spartacus and Magic City — from Starz Digital Media. The acquisitions come as part of the leading African Internet TV platform’s move into international content distribution, as part of its English Speaking Africa package, launched earlier this month.
Leading music site, Notjustok.com is launching a SoundCloud-styled music platform today that allows artists to upload songs and share with their friends, fans and followers as well as link these up with iTunes so that listeners can purchase their music.
The world’s largest digital distributor of African movies, iROKO Partners is set to officially launch its new movie production company, ROK Studios.
We love spotting and covering company offices here at Techloy, but really haven’t done this in a while. In the past, we’ve had to do company office tours and written up quick reviews about them. So when Jason Njoku posted photos of iROKOtv’s newly acquired international offices located in Manhattan, just off Times Square, about…
When leaked images from a soon-to-be-launched celebrity ratings and parody site was made available to Techloy, we couldn’t help but applaud the creative thinking that the team put into the project, which apparently depicts a humourous caricature of some notable Nigerian celebrities in music, movies, comedy, sports and media.
English football club, Manchester United has revealed amendments to its club policy that will see fans banned from bringing ‘large electronic devices’ to matches at Old Trafford, citing security issues. According to the club’s official website, “large electronic devices including laptops and tablets will be added to the existing list of prohibited items for matchdays at…
The duchess of iROKOland, Jessica Hope announced today that she was leaving the world’s largest online distributor of Nigerian movie content, iROKO Partners to start-up her own venture.
IrokoTv, the video-on-demand platform, which has been tagged by many as the ‘Netflix of Africa’ is bringing Hollywood, Telenovelas and Bollywood movies and Tv shows to Africa.
Skits is a new and exciting social video network that rewards people for engaging with their favourite brands.
In Nigeria, it is not unpopular to see music and movie stars sign endorsement deals as official ambassadors of Internet companies.
Music streaming service, Spotify is reportedly in talks with telecommunications company, Vodacom to introduce its service in Africa, according to a Bloomberg report.
US-based online and mobile social video marketplace, PublicVine founded by Nigerian entrepreneur, Nam Mokwunye, has received “Series A” investment of around $10 million as it plans to commence its global commercial launch in June 2014.
Amidst what seems to be a potential dispute with local partners and authorities in Zimbabwe, Multichoice’s budget pay TV service, GOtv has been off air since January 31, according to tech blog, TechZim.


text:
The Kratom Industry Is Under Attack By The Banks, Bitcoin And Monero Are The Solution
Operation Chokepoint was launched in 2013 under the guise of protecting the public from fraudsters and loan sharks, as well as preventing a repeat of the 2008 Great Recession. However, the Department of Justice soon used Operation Chokepoint to attack legal industries that they disagreed with, including cryptocurrency, porn, guns, gambling, headshops, legalized Marijuana, and Kratom.
Even where Kratom is legal, agents from the Department of Justice would make unofficial recommendations to banks to close the accounts of anyone who is dealing in Kratom, as well as ask banks for information to help identify those who use their accounts for Kratom. The primary target was Kratom suppliers, and Kratom suppliers ended up losing numerous bank accounts and online payment service accounts like PayPal, Square Cash, Venmo, and Google Pay.
Essentially, the Department of Justice dislikes the Kratom industry, but since Kratom is not illegal in most jurisdictions, the Department of Justice used underhanded tactics to choke off Kratom businesses by cutting off their ability to send and receive money. Indeed, the loss of bank accounts and online payment services accounts can severely disrupt business, especially if funds are seized during an account closure, and in a worst case scenario could cause a Kratom supplier to be forced out of business.
In August 2017 Operation Chokepoint officially came to an end, and the Department of Justice itself stated that the operation was hurting legitimate businesses which is why it had to end.
However, the Kratom industry remains under attack, and bank accounts as well as online payment service accounts of Kratom businesses are being shutdown at the same rate. Thus, Operation Chokepoint may have officially ended, but in reality banks are still using the same tactics to suppress the Kratom industry.
Part of the problem is that banks and online payment service accounts can close an account for any reason, and do not have to tell the client the reason for an account closure, nor do they have to give any warning.
Ultimately, the problem is due to the centralization of the banking system, which allows people in charge of the banks to do anything they want to their clients. In other words, having access to bank accounts and online payment service accounts is not a basic human right in centralized systems.
Fortunately there is a solution. Bitcoin launched in 2009, and is a completely decentralized payment system. No one owns the Bitcoin network, in-fact the Bitcoin network is powered by thousands of computers worldwide. There is no way to stop the Bitcoin network, since if any of the computers running Bitcoin stay online, then the network survives. Further, Bitcoin uses uncrackable cryptographic security, so no government or organization can change the way Bitcoin works, only a consensus of the thousands of computers running and securing the Bitcoin network can change the rules of the Bitcoin network.
Due to Bitcoin’s decentralization and cryptographic security, Bitcoin payments are immutable, meaning they can never be reversed or frozen. This is far superior to fiat payments which can be reversed by chargebacks or reversed by the bank. Also, Bitcoin can be sent anywhere in the world instantly, no matter the amount of money being sent, for a tiny transaction fee of $1 or less.
Finally, Bitcoin is legal to use for business. Since Bitcoin is essentially unstoppable, the government has been forced to regulate it rather than try to fight a futile war against it.
Therefore, Bitcoin is the perfect payment solution for the Kratom industry. A Kratom supplier who accepts Bitcoin payments never has to worry about chargebacks, reversals, or their account being frozen. Also, Bitcoin can be converted into cash instantly at thousands of Bitcoin ATMs spread across the world, and the United States in particular has the most Bitcoin ATMs by far.
Bitcoin can also be cashed out on an exchange, but this requires a bank account and can lead to the exact same problems of bank accounts being frozen. It is best to get physical cash for Bitcoin at an ATM, or via a peer to peer deal with any of the millions of people who would pay cash for Bitcoin.
For increased security Monero can be used, which is a stealth cryptocurrency. Bitcoin is fairly anonymous, with the only identifying information being Bitcoin addresses which are long strings of letters and numbers, with zero personal information being required. However, Monero is fully anonymous, and no one can see the origin, destination, or amount of a transaction.
Best of all, using Bitcoin to buy and sell Kratom is fully legal, as well as cashing the Bitcoin out at an ATM, as long as taxes are paid.
Thus, the Kratom industry is being unfairly attacked by the centralized banking industry, but Bitcoin and Monero can solve this problem via decentralized, cryptographically secure, immutable, and instant payments.