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Diversify, invest in agriculture and fisheries
They are the sort of headlines that continue to worry stakeholders in Samoa’s burgeoning tourism industry, after growth in the sector in the last financial year spurred the country’s economic growth by 5.7 per cent, according to Central Bank data.
To give you a perspective on how much revenue the tourism industry generates for Samoa’s national purse, in 2018 tourism earnings totalled $493.8 million, which represented a 16.4 per cent growth from $424.4 million in 2017.
Tourism and remittances are the country’s two major revenue earners with Central Bank data showing Samoa getting $503.73 million tala in earnings from remittances for the 2017-2018 financial year.
But the forecast for future growth in tourism sector doesn’t look promising with the country struggling to recover from a deadly measles epidemic, only to be impacted by the global threat posed by the novela coronavirus (COVID-19).
In fact measles-related cancellations have already cost the local tourism industry up to $10 million tala, on top of the loss of $200,000 in cruise ship-related fees that the Samoa Port Authority could have collected.
An article in the Wednesday, February 26, 2020 edition of the Samoa Observer reported on a temporary ban imposed by the Government on all cruise ships planning to visit Samoa as a measure against COVID-19, in another major blow to businesses and individuals who would directly or indirectly benefit from these visits.
The diversification of Samoa’s economy – in a bid to move the country’s engine room for economic growth away from its reliance on tourism – has been a focal point of discussion for Government officials over the years.
But the impact of the recent measles epidemic and the onset of the COVID-19 threat, yet again, confirms the vulnerability of the tourism industry and the need for the Government to begin work to push for economic diversification.
Samoa’s agriculture and fisheries potential remains untapped, and are two sectors that if developed properly, can go on to become export revenue earners for our fledgling economy. The potential of these two sectors continues to be highlighted in various Government and donor-funded studies and reports.
One such Government-sanctioned report is the 2015 Report on Samoa Agriculture Survey produced by the Samoa Bureau of Statistics, and supported by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (F.A.O.) of the United Nations.
One interesting statistic to come out from that report is the finding that 27,411 or 97 per cent of the 28,119 households surveyed in Samoa grew crops or raised livestock.
Government investment in the agricultural sector, in a bid to get ordinary Samoan farmers to gradually set themselves up in the agriculture export business, could over the long-term translate to an increase in the exports of cash crops such as taro or bananas to markets overseas.
Similar to agriculture, fishing is important to Samoans and fish makes up a large component of citizens’ daily meals. Subsistence and commercial fisheries are present in Samoa, and there are businesses directly involved in the export market.
The Fisheries Division’s Annual Report for 2014-2015 produced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (M.A.F.) – which was cross-referenced in a F.A.O. online report on fisheries and aquaculture in Samoa – highlights the landing of an estimated 319 tonnes of troll fishery with a value of $2.2 million tala at the main fish markets in Samoa. Bottomfish fishing fleet land an estimated 10.3 tonnes of fish, according to the same report.
But access to capital for business-startups in the agriculture and fisheries sectors has always been a hurdle for aspiring businessmen and women, who are willing to invest their time and energy to get the project off the ground, but with financial support provided by the Government.
The dilemma they face could be easily resolved by the Government-owned Development Bank of Samoa (D.B.S.), which as per its mandate to “support and enable sustainable development” in Samoa, could offer affordable financing options to those who are keen to get into agriculture and fisheries-focused small to medium-sized enterprise.
This newspaper has published stories in recent years on how the D.B.S. focused on the tourism sector and gave loans to individuals who went on to build hotels and hospitality-related facilities.
To date a number of these investments have been unable to make a profit, leading to the creditors defaulting on their loans.
It is time the Government invested in a big way in agriculture and fisheries and supported those willing to go the extra mile, which is a long-term solution to addressing Samoa’s reliance on vulnerable sectors such as tourism.
Have a lovely Thursday Samoa and God bless.


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ReedPop talks about the plans for E3 2023’s face-to-face event. The four-day video game fair will be geared toward both businesses and consumers.
The E3 will come back with a face-to-face event that tries to bring back the glory of years past. When it came out that the organisers were planning a hybrid format for next year’s event, more information came out. GamesIndustry.biz says that E3 2023 will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from June 13 to 16.
The general plan for the event, which will take place over four days and focus on businesses and consumers. This division will be strict at E3 2023, which is different from past years. The first two days will be for business, the third will be a mix of business and consumers, and the last day will be for fans only.
The next time around, the organizers will try to please both groups. On the one hand, they want to give people in the video game business a quiet place to talk and make deals. On the other hand, people will be able to do the same things they did in previous years, like visit booths and play the newest AAA and indie games.
A place to do business and have fun
Those who work in the game or media industries will find the division by days interesting and useful. In order to do this, the Convention Center will be split in half. One half will be for businesses, with quiet booths and places to talk over coffee. The second will be the beautiful South Hall, where companies will have booths to show off their new games.
Unlike the last face-to-face event, E3 2023 won’t let people in until the third and fourth days. The organizers plan to have events around the Convention Center and game shows that people can watch in person or online. ReedPop tries to sell things that people really want.
E3 2023 returns; who’s excited?
Those of us who have been to the Los Angeles Convention Center at least once may be interested in the return of E3 as a face-to-face event. It was amazing how exciting it was to wait in line for a keynote, play the latest behind-the-scenes game, or talk to developers. For the last person who bought a ticket, the fair meant waiting in line for hours to play for less than 4 minutes, paying sky-high prices for food, and using bathrooms where you could get sick.
Companies like Nintendo, Sony, and EA leaving the market hurt the general interest. And the COVID-19 pandemic was an event that now seems pointless. In a time when everyone is talking about TikTok videos, Nintendo Directs, and events like Summer Game Fest or The Game Awards. So the organisers of E3 2023 will have to work hard to bring back some of the glory.

domain: news


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The Priory Vale marketing literature waxed lyrical about the proposed Redhouse Village Centre, but for about 100 residents at a public meeting on 15 March, there is only frustration that it has not been built yet.
Chris Cain, project manager for developers Crest Nicholson, tried to paint a complete picture of what the village centre will eventually look like, but took heavy criticism for allowing a Chinese takeaway and a fish and chip shop into the first phase which opens in September. A hair salon will take a third unit and discussions are taking place on the fourth.
A convenience store will be opened by the Smile chain in June.
Residents said they had bought houses on the basis of the Crest vision of village-style shops and outdoor cafes – as visualised in marketing material, pictured here.
But Mr Cain said judgement should be made when the village centre is complete in three years. He told the audience that Crest is following a detailed design guide agreed by Swindon Council’s planning committee in 2002. He also outlined the problem of letting shopping units when an area is only just filling up and retailers are concerned there will be a market to serve.
He said: "We are currently discussing the pub site with three operators interested in providing a family friendly, food led outlet, built to a high quality. I hope to announce the successful operator soon; it should be open in 18 months.
"We’re in discussion about the church and sites are set aside for a health centre, day nursery and sheltered housing for the elderly.
"There will be two office buildings and three further retail units are planned on a one and a half acre tree lined square opposite the learning campus." (pictured right)
"We aim to create a quality space which will encourage retailers to invest in the area."
He added that two years ago Smile is being encouraged to incorporate a post office within their store.
Coun Owen Lister, commenting on the residents’ complaints that Crest is doing nothing different to other local shopping areas, said that people have to bear in mind that within a mile is the well established North Swindon District Centre offering low prices to shoppers. "Retailers will have to look long and hard as to whether they can get a return on their investment at Redhouse."
Coun Justin Tomlinson said he would be inviting the pub operator to a meeting to present their proposals and listen to residents’ requests.
Mr Cain agreed to return to another meeting in the Autumn to discuss the next phase of the village development. Residents who have moved close to the village centre expressed anger at the bright blue rendering used on the upper floors of the apartment blocks over the first phase of shops. (as illustrated in Priory Vale marketing material, right).
Earlier on in the evening Swindon Council waste management staff discussed the introduction of weekly recycling collections and fortnightly wheelie bin emptying this summer. Environment director Steve Harcourt said experience elsewhere did not support residents’ concerns that a fortnightly bin collection pose a health hazard. "The council is under tremendous pressure by government to raise its levelof recycling so as not to incur financial penalties which ultimately will fall on the council taxpayer.
"Our aim is to achieve a 50 per cent recycling rate by 2010. To achieve this residents will have to change their approach to waste and recycling."
He added that the council already comes down hard on fly tippers and that a team of waste and recycling ambassadors will talk to householders about how they can recycle more.


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New 2017 Highlander Makes Appearance at New York Auto Show
Toyota has finally revealed pictures of the new 2017 Highlander to the public ahead of the vehicle’s debut at the upcoming New York Auto Show. With a newly upgraded exterior appearance and additions to the Highlander’s powertrain options, the SUV is rolling into the 2017 model year with an improved roster of features that is sure to appeal to buyers in the SUV segment. Plus, with a variety of trim levels, a versatile drivetrain, and the current popularity of the SUV and crossover market at the moment, the Toyota Highlander is in an advantageous spot for a mid-cycle refresh.
Exterior features like more prominent grilles, new graphics on the taillights, and two new color options for all trims add an extra edge to the Highlander’s appearance. The LE, LE Plus, and XLE feature silver paint, while the two more luxurious options — Limited and Limited Platinum — feature a chrome finish. In addition to the new Celestial Silver Metallic and Toasted Walnut Pearl colors on the 2017 model’s palette, the new SE trim also adds one more new color option, Salsa Red Pearl.
The SE trim level, new for the 2017 model year, will slide in between the XLE and Limited trims, featuring a dark finish on the grilles, a sport-tuned suspension, roof rails, and 19-inch alloy wheels, among other new and more athletic features. The interior comes standard with black leather upholstery with silver stitching.
These improvements are in addition to new tech features, like five USB ports and the Toyota Safety Sense P package, and the new and improved 3.5-liter V6, which Toyota reps say will produce significantly more horsepower than the previous model’s equivalent 270-HP engine. A new eight-speed transmission will also replace the old six-speed.
The new 2017 Highlander is due for launch sometime in the fall of 2016. Pricing has yet to be announced. In the meantime, check out the current Highlander models we have in stock!


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Ford sought Shelby's help in building a car to take on Italy's Ferrari in the European racing circuit. Shelby had won the LeMans behind the wheel of his own car years earlier.
The GT40, shown here with Shelby, won the 24-hour LeMans race in France 4 times from 1966 to 1969 and won the World Sports Car Championships in 1966 and '67.
GT40s can be worth from $1 million to $2 million, according to auction results collected by Hagerty Insurance.
Fortune's Sue Callaway has an exclusive first look at the "ultimate Shelby.".
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Last week was a glittering week for diamonds. As preparations for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee were underway in London, the Martian Pink, a 12.04 carat diamond, went under the hammer at a record HK$135 million (US$17 million) at a Christie’s Hong Kong jewellery sale.
However, in the same week Graff Diamonds announced it will shelve a US$1 billion IPO in Hong Kong. In the U.S., shares of diamond jewellers including Tiffany and Harry Winston have all fallen sharply while BHP and Rio are seeking buyers for their diamond mines. Is a diamond still a “girl’s best friend?”
“In spite of uncertainty, and barring a global economic shock, we expect to see continued growth in global diamond jewellery sales, albeit at lower levels than the exceptional growth seen in 2011,” De Beers’s CEO Phillipe Mellier said in the outlook section of the company’s Operating and Financial Review 2011. “This will be driven by the overall strength of the luxury goods market, improving sentiment in the U.S. (the largest diamond jewellery market), continuing growth in China, and the positive impact of the 2011 polished price growth on retail jewellery prices,’’ according to the company which produces about 35 per cent of the world’s rough diamonds.
However, concerns about whether the European debt crisis could be brought under control have returned to haunt the equity markets. Global consumer spending has turned cautious, dampening the strength of the luxury market. Sentiment in the U.S. has weakened while growth in China slowed.
London-listed Gem Diamonds said in its Interim Management statement in April that its own price index has risen 7 per cent in the year after a sharp fall in prices across the industry at the end of the third-quarter of 2011. The U.S. S&P 500 equity index reached its highest point of 1,419 this year on April 2. The benchmark has since fallen to around 1,285.
Graff Diamonds, Tiffany
Graff Diamonds said it will postpone its share sale because of “consistently declining stock markets.” While there were concerns that the valuation of its stock was rich compared with its peers, the company’s decision to delay its IPO followed Tiffany’s reduction of its sales estimates. The diamond retailer revised its worldwide net sales to a 7-8 per cent gain, down from a previous expectation calling for 10 per cent growth.
Announcing its first-quarter earnings, it said sales were weakest in the U.S. compared with other regions. Smaller bonuses on Wall Street, the European debt crisis and the stronger dollar have taken their toll on consumer spending. Tiffany’s shares have fallen 14 per cent in the last month.
“Although we are very early into the second quarter, worldwide sales are currently increasing by a low-single-digit percentage, reflecting difficult year-over-year comparisons and decelerating rates of economic growth in many countries,” the company said in its result statement.
According to Rapaport Group, its RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI) for 1 carat diamonds fell 0.6 per cent in May. The 0.3 carat category declined by 0.3 per cent and the 0.5 carat stones dropped 0.4 per cent. RAPI for 3 carat diamonds fell 1.6 per cent during the month. Through the first five months of the year, RAPI for 1 carat diamonds fell 1.7 per cent and has declined by 4.5 per cent from one year ago.
“Trading is set to remain challenging in the second half of the year,” said the group that plans to set up a diamond exchange for banks and brokers in October.
Shares of Anglo American, which owns 45 per cent of De Beers, have declined 7 per cent in the past month. Harry Winston is down about 11 per cent. Gem Diamonds has fallen 8 per cent, which some analysts say represents a buying opportunity. The diamond retailers have all underperformed the S&P 500 index, which has fallen about 4 per cent over the same period.
BHP, Rio Mines
As global market sentiment turns sour, Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton are negotiating to sell their diamond mines. Back in March, Rio said it was looking to exit the diamond industry. The move followed BHP’s announcement on November 29 that it’s studying the sale of some or all of its diamond unit because the operations may no longer fit with its strategy. Rio gave similar reasons for the sale if its diamond mines, adding they don’t have the required scale.
Rio’s decision comes after it took a US$344 million one-time charge for the diamond business earlier this year to reflect higher costs for the $2.1 billion expansion of the Argyle mine in Australia.
Melbourne-based BHP, which accounted for about 7.5 per cent of global diamond production by value in 2010, owns 80 per cent of the Ekati mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories.
Diamond prices are likely to see a further dip in 2012 with a possible rebound in 2013, according to analysts. While there are still expectations for longer-term diamond prices to increase as the middle class in China and India expands and global supply remains limited, currently it appears diamonds are a fickle fair-weather friend. Chinese per capita consumption of diamonds though increasing is also said to be well behind developed markets.
Meanwhile, the European debt crisis has spread. Cyprus, the zone’s third-smallest economy, is the latest to say it might seek a banking sector bailout. The Portuguese government has announced it will inject 6.6 billion euros (US$8.3 billion) into the country’s three largest banks. Spain is struggling to contain its own banking crisis after last week’s failed attempt to shore up Bankia, arranging 100 billion euros in loans from the Eurozone to shore up its ailing banks.
Gold More Reliable?
Given the global uncertainty it appears gold not diamonds may be the investors’ more reliable friend. After temporarily giving up its gains for the year last month, bullion is heading for a 12th straight annual gain, according to a Bloomberg report. “Gold remains the currency of last resort,” Jeff Currie, the New York-based head of commodity research at Goldman Sachs said in the report, predicting gold to reach $1,840 by the end of the year.
Bee Lin Ang is a writer and blogger based in Sydney. She was a former editor with Bloomberg News in Hong Kong and spent 10 years as a correspondent with Reuters in Singapore, London and Melbourne, specialising in Asian equities and commodity markets. She is fluent in Mandarin and speaks various other Asian languages.


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Inmarsat saw total revenues fall 10.5 per cent year-on-year in the period, largely due to its ill-fated LightSquared US mobile network, a bid to launch a 4G service which saw expansion blocked by the US Federal Communications Commission and went bankrupt in May.
Revenues from the venture fell from $64.5m (£40.4m) in the quarter last year to $11.7m.
Inmarsat, whose core business is providing satellite broadband to remote areas and ships, also estimated it lost $8.1m in turnover from reduced troop operations in Afghanistan.
However, Inmarsat did see improvements in sales to shipping companies. The company’s FleetBroadband service added 2,128 terminals in the quarter, bringing the total up to 32,000. Turnover in the maritime business was up 17 per cent on last year.
Revenues excluding LightSquared rose five per cent to $322m, but with the venture included they fell from $364m to $326m. Shares fell around three per cent yesterday.
“Overall, the third quarter continues to demonstrate improved and more stable revenues from our core wholesale operations and positions us well, despite the challenging macro-economic environment,” chief executive Rupert Pearce said.


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Constant downpours failed to put off shoppers last month as retail industry figures published today pointed to the strongest sales growth since March 2010.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG said total sales in January rose 5.4% on a year ago as improved job prospects and the recovery in the housing market led to a strong month for homewares and furniture businesses.
However it was not all good news across the sector, with grocers again squeezed by very low levels of sales growth.
More top news
Donald Trump has given himself a "10 out of 10" for the response to the widespread hurricane devastation Puerto Rico suffered.
Police in Los Angeles have opened an investigation after another sexual assault allegation was made involving Harvey Weinstein.
The cost of childcare for young children has increased up to seven times faster than wages over the past few years, a new study reveals.


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It seems as if the Filipino people are, whether deliberately or not, striving being one of the biggest users of electronic communication devices out of most other countries in the world. It was just over a decade or so ago, when analysts were sort of declaring the Philippines to be the widest users of short messaging system (SMS/text) since it was introduced into mobile phones, leading to the nickname “Texting Capital of the World.” This year however, a new statistical study has shown Filipinos to be the current top global patrons of yet another electronic communications medium, the internet itself.
CNN Philippines reports that two online research outfits have released a report on the current digital trends for this year. We are Social and Hootsuite’s “Digital 2019” report, analyzing the online habits and behavior all over the world, lists Filipinos as the longest-duration internet explorers of the world. In terms of specifics, studies show that internet users in the Philippines spend an average of 10:02 hours in a day online, and that is the average total spent on all internet-capable devices from desktop computers to smartphones and internet TV. Filipinos are only followed in duration by Brazilians (9:29), Thai (9:11), Colombians (9:00) and Indonesians (8:36).
In other items of the Digital 2019 report, there are 79 million Filipinos at age 13 and above that are active in social media, against the country’s total population of over 100 million. Some 72 million of them use smartphones for browsing their social media. About 71 percent of the country’s communities are penetrated by social media services of the internet. In the last year alone Philippine social media use grew by about 13%; and from January 2018 to this month over 9 million Filipinos learned to use platforms like Facebook, Twitter and so on.
These numbers are doubly impressive considering that for all the large numbers of Filipino internet users, the country is also one of the slowest in the world in terms of internet speed. To compare, the average Philippine net speed of 19.0 mbps is just one-tenths that of Singapore, which goes up to 190.0 mbps. Those speeds however would be just fine for only social media use, and the Philippines’ average daily use of that portion of the internet is a total of 4 hours and 12 minutes average. The most preferred social media platform by Filipinos is Facebook, but they also use Twitter and Instagram, where they have the highest female user ratio in the world, 63% and 64% respectively.
Image courtesy of Yugatech


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A Honolulu proposal to classify Uber and Lyft as taxicab companies, which was drafted with the help of taxi owners, would be among the most aggressive measures a city has taken to regulate ride-hailing companies, according to industry observers.
“I’ve never seen them trying to put (ride-hailing) under the same rules as a taxi,” said Harry Campbell, who operates therideshareguy.com blog and podcast. Campbell, based in California, monitors national trends and regulations involving Uber, Lyft and similar services.
Dave Sutton, spokesman for the national Taxicab, Limousine & Paratransit Association’s whosdrivingyou.org initiative, agreed.
“I haven’t seen any legislation” that so absolutely levels the playing field, “with the exception of New York City,” Sutton said.
Bill 85, introduced by City Council Chairman Ernie Martin and Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi, would expand the definition of taxi companies to include any entity that “functions as an intermediary between the passenger for hire and the taxicab or taxicab driver, and receives a portion of the consideration paid … regardless of whether the intermediary performs its function entirely or in part using any form or type of technology.”
Kobayashi described the bill as a consumer protection measure. However, Bill 85 would make other changes to taxi regulations as well. Cab drivers would be able to charge new fees, and taxi rates could double at night, for special events and on holidays. The adjustable rates would be similar to “surge” pricing charged by Uber.
The bill would also require Uber and Lyft cars to be equipped with dome lights and taximeters, and would prohibit drivers from using a GPS to calculate distance and determine fares.
Uber spokeswoman Taylor Patterson said some communities have tried to enact similar rules, but none has been successful.
“We don’t believe it makes sense to regulate Uber in the same way as taxis,” she said. “We are not a taxi company. We are a technology company. It is a different model. Taxis have a fleet of vehicles. Uber and Lyft do not.”
Unlike Honolulu, most major cities limit the number of available taxicab licenses. Some cities operate on a medallion system, where taxi licenses can cost $500,000 or more. Cab drivers across the nation have complained that while they are burdened with expensive regulations, ride-hailing companies are allowed to operate with little or no government oversight. On Wednesday, taxi and limousine drivers in Philadelphia were the latest to protest, blocking traffic during a demonstration against Uber and Lyft.
Typically, state and local governments have tried to regulate ride-hailing companies by imposing fingerprinting, stricter background checks or commercial insurance requirements.
On several occasions, Uber and Lyft have responded to increased regulations by pulling out of markets, leaving angry drivers and customers to complain to politicians.
“They have their playbook down pretty set when these things happen,” Campbell said. “They are able to drum up passenger support in an instant.”
Cara Sadira, who has been driving for Uber in Honolulu since September, has confidence the company will protect drivers.
“I feel like Uber is a huge company and trust they will be able to take care of the things that they need to take care of so their independent contractors can keep driving,” Sadira said.
Howard Higa, owner of TheCab, Hawaii’s largest taxi company, said if Uber leaves town, “their drivers can work for another cab company or for themselves.”
“Uber is taking away jobs from people who are trying to be professional cab drivers,” Higa said. “They’ve made a substantial cut to our business.”
While cab companies want to impose restrictions on Uber and Lyft, city administrators say they want to hear from all sides, including consumers, before striking a balance between safety, new technology and competition.
“The city’s position is the public — residents and tourists — have apps on their phones and like the services that they provide,” said city Transportation Services Director Michael Formby. “Basically, we want to guide the conversation in favor of less regulation versus more regulation.”
Robert Deluze, owner of Robert’s Taxi, said Uber will be a powerful force during those conversations because it “has a great mechanism to reach people through social media,” adding, “The taxi industry is not culturally social media friendly. Uber uses social media to bully politicians.”
Still, Deluze said he doubts there would be significant political fallout if the ride-hailing companies left Honolulu.
“I don’t see Uber having an effect on an actual Hawaii election,” he said. “Many of the people that use Uber aren’t from Hawaii and don’t vote. At the end of the day, local people tend to support local.”
David Jung, owner of EcoCab, said because Honolulu doesn’t have medallions or caps on the number of taxi licenses available, the city is in a good position to require ride-hailing companies to abide by taxi regulations.
In communities where licenses are limited and medallions are considered major financial investments, Uber has successfully argued that it can’t enter the market as taxis, Jung said.
Instead, cities have had to develop new regulations for ride-hailing companies “since they couldn’t add Uber to a constrained taxi system,” he said. “If they got rid of the medallions they’d have lawsuits. In these jurisdictions, the taxi industries are the biggest impediment to change.”
Here, the taxi industry is in favor of changing some regulations. Bill 85 would change the rules to:
>> Allow cab drivers to charge passengers a cleaning fee for “the discharge of bodily fluid” or spilled food or drink, as well as a fee for the amount of time the cab is out of service because of spills.
>> Allow taxi companies to adjust fares, fees and rates for “different types and ages of vehicles and may include any costs of doing business, including fees and taxes imposed by governmental entities.”
>> Allow taxi companies or drivers to add a surcharge of up to twice the standard rate for night trips, special events and state holidays.
Although Deluze, of Robert’s Taxi, said “all of the taxi companies were in on this bill,” he does not support surge pricing or adjustable rates, which he described as “price gouging.”
“We’ve never done that and we shouldn’t start,” he said. “We are grumbling about Uber doing it and then we want to do the same thing. No way would I support that.”
City Customer Services Director Sheri Kajiwara, whose department oversees taxicabs, said variable rates would be particularly hard to enforce.
“Price surging will make it more difficult to manage with cabs, especially if they are not using GPS,” she said. “Right now the maximum price is widely known. I’m not sure how we would communicate the variables.”
Sen. Lorraine Inouye (D-Hilo), chairwoman of the Senate’s transportation committee, said ride-hailing oversight is best left to the state rather than the city.
“I think a free market with different products and pricing is in the best interest of the consumers. There should be regulations, but they should be different than for taxicabs and they should be consistent statewide,” Inouye said. “Also, I have some concerns about the city’s taxicab oversight. Background checks and other enforcement should be tougher.”
City background checks go back only two years and are limited to Hawaii convictions.
Inouye said she plans to introduce legislation proposing state guidelines for ride-hailing and mandating tougher city oversight for taxicabs.


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Maxim_Kazmin - Fotolia
Startup 128 Technology thinks it has found a better way to route internet traffic.
Headquartered in suburban Boston, 128 has introduced routing software that sends IP traffic on determined paths between source and destination, providing an alternative to the helter-skelter, hop-to-hop journey packets that now travel over the internet.
128 Technology's router software makes routers session-oriented and cloaks each session with attributes that include standardized firewall, encryption, bandwidth and microsegmentation policies, according to 128 Technology CEO Andy Ory.
The software, which runs on standard x86 servers, not only plots the most optimal way to send packets, but it also keeps track of each session to ensure quality of transmission and security.
"Internetworking is broken," Ory said. "You have the cloud, mobility, application consumption is changing and the need for intense security; all of this is taking a very complex, fragile mess and making it even worse."
In many ways, 128 is leveraging the benefits of data center fabric architectures in its router software -- where traffic flows between servers through the most efficient path -- and placing those features on server processors, said Zeus Kerravala, founder and principal analyst at ZK Research in Westminster, Mass.
"They're rethinking how networks should run," he said, citing advances in software-defined networking and processor speed that make 128's approach viable today. "But the key is if this works in scale; they are targeting big companies with this, and we'll find out pretty soon whether this is a vision or actual reality."
Ory said 128 is targeting service providers, cloud service providers and enterprises -- both within the data center and for branch office connectivity -- for its router software. The initial version is rated at 80 Gbps, but 128 will release higher-capacity versions in the future. The virtual routers work in tandem with legacy routers.
The software is available for download on 128's website; customers pay a monthly licensing fee that depends on the amount of traffic they send through the software.
Dell selling software unit; releases upgrade to SonicWall
Dell released an upgrade to its SonicWall secure mobile access software that gives enterprises additional protection as they provide remote workers with access to corporate networks.
The software, version 8.5, will be available next month and beefs up the tools administrators use to manage how remote users connect to corporate servers. The software enables companies to better track the mobile devices used by remote employees and to establish policies governing how those workers connect to VPNs.
Additionally, the software features an upgraded web application firewall, stronger protection against botnets and the ability to restrict users by geographic location.
The software's release comes as Dell agreed to sell its software unit, which includes SonicWall security and Quest systems management software, to Francisco Partners Management LLC and hedge-fund operator Elliott Management Corp. No financial terms were disclosed for the sale of Dell Software Group, but Reuters reported the sale was in excess of $2 billion.
"We see tremendous growth opportunity for these businesses," said Brian Decker, head of security investment at San Francisco-based Francisco Partners, in a statement. "Network security and access management are increasingly strategic imperatives for enterprises."
Dell has been selling off pieces of its business to help finance its forthcoming $67 billion acquisition of EMC.
Dell'Oro reports data center Ethernet and 40 GbE sales surge
Forty Gigabit Ethernet (40 GbE) and data center switch sales surged in the first quarter of 2016, growing 40% year over year, according to a study of the market by Dell'Oro Group Inc. Dell'Oro, based in Redwood City, Calif., cited growth in cloud demand as the driving force behind the soaring shipments. Each of the major 40 GbE vendors -- among them Cisco, Arista, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Juniper Networks -- racked up more than $40 million in 40 GbE sales during the quarter, Dell'Oro said. The spike in 40 GbE sales may not last long. The research firm projected 100 GbE adoption will ramp up by the end of the year as higher-capacity silicon and components enter the marketplace.
"We anticipate the migration toward 100 GbE will happen in the 2Q16/3Q16 timeframe, with 40 GbE declining significantly by 4Q16," said Alan Weckel, vice president at Dell'Oro Group, in a statement. "The market has not been able to acquire sufficient supplies of silicon for the server [network interface card], top-of-rack switches and core switches in the first quarter of the year to make the transition happen earlier," he added.
Cisco dominated the data center switch market in the quarter, attracting 55% of sales. Arista nabbed 9% of the market, with HPE and white box vendors each carving out an 8% market share. Juniper and Dell each have 4% of the market, Dell'Oro said.
The emerging role of virtual routers
Migrating to 40 GbE


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The internet detonated with the news that Warren Buffet – the leader of Berkshire Hathaway – (BRK-A.NYSE) just purchased 21 million shares of Barrick Gold (GOLD.NYSE) in Q2, 2020.
For a heavy-hitter like Buffett, this is not a big bet (GOLD comprises less than 1% of Buffett’s portfolio), but it’s still an astonishing U-turn.
“Gold gets dug out of the ground in Africa,” stated Buffett in 1998, “Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility.”
“Buffett was there to boost [banks] during and after the last crisis, and he’s remained a top shareholder in most of the big U.S. banks,” continued Bloomberg, “That’s why it’s so jarring that Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sold 62% of its stake in JPMorgan (JPM.NYSE) Chase and cut 26% of its Wells Fargo (WFC.NYSE) holdings”.
Buffett has simultaneously reduced his position in other financial-services firms including PNC Financial Services, M&T Bank, Bank of New York Mellon, Mastercard and Visa while dumping most of his Goldman Sachs shares in Q1, 2020.
Buffett also recently sold its entire stake in the country’s four largest airlines — American (AAL.NYSE), United (UAL.NYSE), Delta (DAL.NYSE) and Southwest (LUV.NYSE).
Although Buffett has cooled on banking and airlines, until recently he remained a champion of the American economy.
“Nothing can basically stop America,” stated Buffett at a virtual shareholder meeting this summer. “The American miracle, the American magic has always prevailed and it will do so again.”
Buffett, the “Oracle of Omaha”, turned 90 this week.
Berkshire Hathaway equity investment portfolio owns stakes in 44 companies and holds a value of $207 billion.
For his 90th birthday, let’s review the top 5 holdings in Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio:
- Apple (AAPL.NYSE) $89.4 billion
- Bank of America (BAC.NYSE) $22 billion
- Coca-Cola (KO.NYSE) $17.9 billion
- American Express (AXP.NYSE) $14.4 billion
- Kraft Heinz Co (KHC.NYSE) $10.4 billion
Technology eats up 46% of Buffett’s assets. Apple comprises an astonishing 44% of the entire investment portfolio. Buffett didn’t start buying Apple until Q1, 2016. His Apple stake has gained $85 billion over the last three or four years.
The financial sector makes up 32% of Buffett’s portfolio. Despite cooling on banks, American Express is a top-five holding. In the second quarter, Buffett lowered stakes in two banks, cutting positions in Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase (JPM.NYSE).
Berkshire Hathaway has a cost basis for the current $207 billion in securities of $96 billion. The 44 stocks have net unrealized gains of $11.4 billion.
Coca-Cola has remained one of the longest-held stocks in the portfolio, first purchased in 1988. Buffett is famous for his love for the brand as he himself drinks five cans a day. “I’m one quarter Coca-Cola,” Buffett once told Fortune, referring to the drink amounting to 25% of his daily calorie intake.
Warren Buffett is currently the fourth richest person in the world with Forbes ranking his net worth at $82.3 billion.
Berkshire Hathaway shares are down 4% in 2020. Shares have increased by 61% over the last five years. Over the last ten years, shares are up 176%.
“Gold would be way down on my list as a store of value,” stated Buffett in 2005.
“Dumping bank shares and investing in a gold miner? It certainly doesn’t sound like a Warren Buffett move, but that’s exactly what the investing guru’s company did in the second quarter,” states Bloomberg, “It’s not a good sign for markets.”


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Here are some of the facts the report discovered:
- Behavioral changes: According to the study, about 50 percent of respondents began checking their credit reports more regularly after being victimized by identity thieves. Every person is entitled to one free, annual credit report from each of the three credit bureaus. It’s important to check your credit report periodically so that you are aware of your financial history.
- Data breaches are becoming more frequent: The ITRC discovered more data breaches by mid-October than it had in all of 2013. Home Depot, P.F. Chang’s and JP Morgan are just some of the businesses that have been affected, and retailers are currently struggling to establish security measures that are sophisticated enough to thwart today’s cyber-criminals.
- Emphasis on detection: The best thing you can do for your financial security and peace of mind is to stay aware. “There are two kinds of consumers —” says Eva Velasquez, ITRC president and CEO, “there are those who know they’ve been breached, and those who don’t.” If you’re worried about becoming the latter, sign up for a credit monitoring service that can alert you to certain kinds of activity that may indicate theft and put yourself in the best possible position to resolve it.
- Effects are long-lasting: Identity theft is a crime that affects many areas of victims’ lives and isn’t easily fixed. According to the ITRC study, more than half of individuals surveyed were still dealing with the aftermath of identity theft at the time of the survey, and 35 percent were still struggling to obtain new lines of credit.
- New accounts are vulnerable: New mobile phone and utility accounts are particularly attractive to identity thieves. The ITRC reported that one in four people with new accounts have their identities stolen, so it’s important to be extra vigilant if you’ve recently opened a cell phone or utility account.
- Public concern is high: According to a new Gallup poll reported by Time Magazine, nearly 70 percent of Americans are concerned that their credit card information will be stolen from a retailer’s point of sale or computer systems, and 62 percent fear that hackers will target their personal mobile devices.
- Static behavior: The ITRC reported that most victims of identity theft did not change their bank, and 94.2 percent remained active online even after being affected by cyber-crimes. The fact is, no bank is free from risk, and consumers don’t feel that changing institutions would protect them. Additionally, most individuals in today’s interconnected world don’t have the ability to disengage entirely from the internet, even though they understand the inherent risks of being online.
This study confirms that victims find identity theft to be a costly crime, and one that takes a significant amount of time to recover from. The best thing consumers can do is to detect identity theft as soon as possible, and that’s where credit and identity protection services can be helpful.


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April 11 (Bloomberg) -- Consumer confidence rose in April to the highest level since July, boosted by further improvement in the labor market that will provide some traction for the economy after a weather-related slowdown early this year.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of sentiment climbed to 82.6 this month from a four-month low of 80 in March. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for the measure to increase to 81.
More favorable views of current conditions and the outlook show consumers are taking higher prices at grocery stores and gas stations in stride, indicating gains in household purchases will be sustained. More employment opportunities that spur a pickup in wages would help provide a bigger boost for the consumer spending that makes up the largest part of the economy.
“The confidence that we had going into 2014 got pushed back a couple months, but now we’re going to see it blossom in the spring,” said Jay Morelock, an economist at FTN Financial in New York, who projected a reading of 82.3. “Expectations are high for the second quarter to really reboundfrom the first quarter.”
Estimates of the 66 economists in the Bloomberg survey ranged from 79 to 89.8. The index averaged 89 in the five years before December 2007, when the last recession began, and 64.2 in the 18-month contraction that followed.
Stocks dropped, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index heading for its biggest weekly decline since January, as disappointing results from JPMorgan Chase & Co. fueled concern that corporate earnings will be weak. The S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent to 1,820.01 at 10:20 a.m. in New York.
Another report today showed inflation at the producer level climbed more than forecast last month. The Labor Department’s producer-price index increased 0.5 percent in March, the most since June, after a 0.1 percent decrease the prior month. Services costs rose the most in four years and prices of food accelerated.
Today’s figures are at odds with Bloomberg’s weekly measure of sentiment. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index dropped last week to a two-month low as measures of Americans’ views on the economy, their personal finances and the buying climate all declined.
The Michigan survey’s index of expectations six months from now increased to 73.3, the highest since August, from 70 last month. The gauge of current conditions, which measures respondents’ views of their finances, climbed to a four-month high of 97.1 in April from 95.7.
Still, rising gasoline and food prices are straining household budgets. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline climbed to $3.62 yesterday, the highest since early August, according to AAA, the nation’s largest motoring organization. In 2013, fuel costs averaged $3.49 a gallon.
Americans are paying more at the grocery-store checkout line as well. Food and beverage prices increased 0.4 percent in February, the most since September 2011, after at 0.1 percent rise a month earlier, according to a March 18 Labor Department report.
Today’s figures from the agency showed further increases may be in store. Wholesale food costs jumped 1.1 percent in March, the most since May and led by higher prices for meats, including pork and sausage.
Progress in the labor market may help keep sentiment from faltering. Jobless claims dropped by 32,000 to 300,000 in the week ended April 5, the lowest since May 2007, Labor Department data showed yesterday. The figure was lower than the most optimistic forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists, while the median estimate called for 320,000 claims.
Payrolls, excluding those at government agencies, rose by 192,000 workers in March after a 188,000 gain the previous month that was larger than first estimated, the Labor Department said last week. Private employment exceeded the pre-recession peak for the first time.
The jobless rate held at 6.7 percent last month as an increase of about 500,000 people into the workforce was matched by a similar rise those finding employment, last week’s report also showed.
Figures last week showed consumer spending is on the mend after demand was restrained earlier in the year by bad winter weather. Cars and light trucks sold in March at a 16.3 million annualized rate, the fastest since May 2007, following a 15.3 million pace the prior month. Purchases at General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC all topped analysts’ estimates.
“The incoming indicators are now pointing to some better economic momentum following a weak patch during the first two months of the year, coupled with some supportive policy backdrop, the economy is entering the second quarter on an improved trend,” Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, chief economist at Ford, said on an April 1 conference call. There are “some signs of improving wage and income gains. Very steady consumer confidence is also helping to be a support as we enter the second quarter of economic activity.”
At the same time, lower-income Americans more susceptible to rising food and fuel costs may be pulling back. Family Dollar Stores Inc., the discount chain based in Matthews, North Carolina, announced yesterday plans to close 370 stores as aggressive price-reductions, unusually harsh winter weather and cash-strapped consumers weighed on second-quarter performance.
“Notwithstanding the macro-economic pressure, competitive environment and severe weather, we are not satisfied with our results,” Chief Executive Officer Howard Levine said in a statement. Aside from the immediate closures, the company plans to “slow new store growth beginning in fiscal 2015 to improve our return on investment,” he said.
Modest job gains have allowed the Federal Reserve to proceed with reductions in monthly asset purchases while pledging to keep interest rates low.
The policy makers announced another $10 billion trimming of purchases to $55 billion at their March gathering as they unwind a balance sheet that has ballooned to a record $4.24 trillion.
At the same time, the Fed’s target for the federal funds rate has been at zero to 0.25 percent since December 2008. The first rise in that rate won’t occur until the third quarter of 2015, according to the median of 63 economists in a Bloomberg survey conducted April 4-9.


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Malware In The Factory
Microsoft recently revealed that malware is being installed on computers at the shipping and possibly factory level. This is alarming news for consumers and businesses all over the world. The malicious software was found during a test conducted by researchers in China where 4 in 20 computers checked were infected.
The Malware Problem
Malware has been a growing problem since the internet was first created, but in the past five years it has become nothing less then a major headache for computer users around the globe. As Windows is the most connected system to the internet, it is the number one target for hackers and spammers. Back in 2007 malware had already reached saturation in the US with levels peaking at 34.2%. China was not far behind at 31.0%.
Flash forward 5 years and the malware problem has not gone away, though the statistics have shifted by country somewhat. The USA is still the leading source of malware code being found online and accounts for 30% of all malicious code. Interestingly China has dropped significantly since 2007 and whilst still a big threat for computers, malicious code found on Chinese servers has dropped.
Overall though, the problem hasn’t gone away. It has simply adapted. The Microsoft researchers who found the infected computers in China, believe that the problem cannot just exist in one factory or stock room. China has always been a major hub for illicit activity and the fact that ‘Nitol’ – one of the most modern malicious viruses – was found on several of the test cases, shows that they still have a long way to go before eliminating the problem.
There is no simple answer to how to prevent a malware attack on your computer as in many cases you won’t be able to. The word ‘vigilance’ keeps cropping up on the pages of many advice articles and tech journals across the net, but what does it actually mean for the user? For home computers and small businesses the best advice is to ensure you have sufficient safeguards in place to prevent infection when online. This includes up to date virus checkers and software and Windows automatic updates where available. However one area that has become huge in protecting users is having the facilities to back up your data.
According to one leading data management company, Investment in back up is not only cost effective, but also essential owing to the continuing adaptability of hackers and trolls.
“Malware and high cases of virus infections may have dropped over the past five years, but there are still plenty of hackers out there working round the clock to obtain data illegally and wipe out systems.”
As it is impossible to protect your system from everything, the best you can do is to protect the files that matter most to you. In many cases this means protecting company data which can be anything from personnel records, financial accounts or simply an address book. Even Apple computers are no longer immune with more and more hackers targeting the software giant. An announcement made just this month regarding the release of ‘Dockster’ malware designed specifically to take control of Apple computers shows that no one is 100% safe.
In times where you cannot even be sure that your new computer is not already infected with malware when you take it out of the box, data management and back ups are now the most effective protection anyone can have.


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NEW JERSEY- Toys R Us will be closing the doors of about 20 percent of its stores in the United States. The company reported that 180 of their 900 stores will be closing as a result of bankruptcy.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David Brandon wrote Tuesday in a memo to customers, “The reinvention of our brands requires that we make tough decisions about our priorities and focus”. He went on to explain that the company’s sales have been in a swift decline since the Tide Pod Challenge recently went viral.
The company that once lead toy sales in the U.S. is now about $5 billion in debt. Mr. Brandon said “Once children started entertaining themselves by ingesting tide pods, they, along with their families, didn’t see a need to buy entertainment products from our stores”.
The closings will begin in February with going out of business sales beginning in the coming weeks. By mid-April, all of the 180 stores planned to be closed, will go dark.
The memo ends with CEO David Brandon stating, “The actions we are taking are necessary to give us the best chance to emerge from our bankruptcy proceedings. We look forward to the day that the Tide Pod Challenge hurts enough children to scare the public back to buying our toys from our remaining stores”.


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Microsoft plugs Xbox One consoles into its cloud - what could go wrong?
No one wants a Blue Sky of Death ruining their post-work shoot'em'up
Microsoft is wiring Windows Azure directly into its forthcoming Xbox One games console – giving game developers server-side processing and gamers the chance of cloud brownouts ruining their playtime.
Microsoft has said from the start that Xbox will be tied into Azure, but on Tuesday John Bruno, a program manager for Xbox Live, posted a blog explaining how these features will work.
Game programmers will get free servers from Azure so they can add server-side processing into their games for performing tasks that aren't latency sensitive, he said.
Along with this, dedicated servers will be made available letting online games host "hundreds" of players compared with the 16, 32, or 64-player shenanigans made possible by current consoles.
And games companies can use the telemetry fed to them from the consoles to develop additional features in response to what players do, he said.
"Additionally, Xbox Live Compute can be utilized to persist game state so that your squad can live to fight another day without losing any progress," he noted.
What set our alarm bells a'clanging was this statement: "We expect that this platform will help our development community build more of their games as services – games that are intelligent, immersive and continuously evolving experiences for the players – powered by Microsoft’s ever-expanding cloud infrastructure."
Bearing in mind the cockups that have and do happen with software-as-a-service and infrastructure-as-a-service products, games-as-a-service makes us shiver. In the past, Azure outages – Blue Skies of Death – have killed online play and made save games unavailable for a variety of Microsoft products.
With the new Xbox One, Microsoft appears to be going further by encouraging developers to offload whole chunks of game logic into servers operated by Redmond.
Though this may allow for additional features, it smacks of a stealthy anti-piracy (Digital Rights Managemennt) feature that could blow up in Microsoft's face. Just remember what happened when SimCity launched on the PC and crashed as EA's servers failed to keep up with the load.
Console rival Sony has also promised cloud features for its console as well, though these are less ambitious than Microsoft's and therefore should have less of an impact if [when? – ed] Sony's servers croak. ®


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CHICAGO (CBS) — Metra officials say some customers were overcharged when they used their credit cards to buy train tickets last week.
LISTEN: Newsradio 780’s Mary Frances Bragiel reports
As WBBM Newsradio 780’s Mary Frances Bragiel reports, officials are working overtime to rectify the situation. Metra says it has been in contact with the bank its bank, which is reviewing all transactions that took place at station ticket windows on June 27.
That was the day when nearly 1,500 Metra customers were charged twice for a ticket.
Metra says all overcharges will be reversed within two to three business days, or by this coming Saturday.
“Metra apologizes for the inconvenience caused to our customers,” the transit agency says on its Web site. “We are working with our credit card processing provider to ensure the necessary protocols are in place to prevent future recurrences.”


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Elgin eyecare specialists are urging people in the town to take care of their eyes this summer.
The team at Specsavers in the town hopes locals will invest in quality sunglasses to protect their sight in the better weather – whether they’re holidaying at home or abroad.
A word of advice from the store director
Peter Taylor, store director at Specsavers in Elgin, said: ‘It’s really important that we protect our eyes against the sun’s harmful rays. ‘We encourage customers to select sunglasses which bear the CE kite mark, indicated by labelling with the mark UV 400.
‘UV rays can cause eye irritation and, in extreme cases, permanent damage so we aim to ensure people are aware of the best options. Just pop into the store for one-to-one advice.’


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Friday, April 16, 2010
Worksoft: Best Q1 Ever
Dallas-based Worksoft, a developer of testing and lifecycle automation software for SAP, announced Thursday that it had its best ever Q1 in the company's history. The privately held firm did not disclose financials, but said the Q1 topped a record revenue performance in its fiscal 2009 year. The firm said it added a record number of customers, across segments including retail, healthcare, consumer packaged goods, pharmaceutical, technology and financial services. Worksoft is venture backed by Austin Ventures and Crescendo Ventures.


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Videocon Mobile has introduced a special US and Canada ILD (International Long Distance) pack. This voucher is available for both new and existing subscribers. It offers calls to USA and Canada at nominal price of Rs 105 for existing customer and Rs 135 for new acquisitions, validity of the pack being 4 weeks. As per the operator, the usual rate for these countries is Rs 6.40 per min and thus the new offer amounts to 98 per cent discount.
Arvind Bali, director and chief executive officer, Videocon Telecommunications, said, “Videocon Mobile Services is engaged in bringing the best tariff offers to its consumers and this US and Canada ILD pack is a part of the brand’s commitment of the same. With this pack we are offering unmatched and most economical international long distance calling (ILD) to our subscribers at tariffs which will be cheaper than even local calling.”
“On a lighter side, who says rupee is declining against the dollar? With such value for money products, we have increased the purchasing power of rupee”, Mr. Bali added.


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In May, HTC made a promise that its three flagships (One A9, One M9 and 10) will receive Android N update. Two days ago, the Taiwanese company wanted to remind users that it will keep its word and will upgrade these smartphones to Android Nougat – the name that Google has chosen for its upcoming operating system.
On June 30, HTC has posted on its Twitter account the following message: “So sweet. Android Nougat—the next version of Google’s Android—will be coming to the HTC 10, HTC One A9 & HTC One M9.” The big absent from the list is the HTC One M8, which was released in March 2014 and it’s too old to be eligible to receive the update, but HTC hasn’t mentioned the exact date when Nougat will be available for the aforementioned devices.
HTC is one of Google’s OEMs and rumors say that the company will build the next Nexus 5 “Sailfish” and Nexus 6 “Marlin”, whose specs have leaked online. The smaller variant will have a 5-inch Full HD AMOLED display (at 440ppi), it will be powered by a quad-core 2.0GHz 64-bit processor, most likely a Snapdragon that will be backed by 4GB of RAM and will have a battery of 2770mAh. The internal memory will have a base storage level with a capacity of 32GB that will support expansion, the rear camera will be 12MP and the front camera will be 8MP. On its back will have a fingerprint scanner, at the bottom will be placed a USB-C port and there will be a bottom-firing speaker or dual speakers. The phone will also feature a top-mounted headphone jack and Bluetooth 4.2.
The Nexus 6 Marlin will have a 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED display, it will be powered by a more powerful quad-core Qualcomm processor that will be also backed by 4GB of RAM and will offer two variants of internal memories: 32GB and 128GB. The battery will have a capacity of 3,450 mAh and the cameras and the rest of the features will be identical to those of the Nexus 5 2016.


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Supplied / Interislander
Interislander staff have buttered 4,500 meals of chicken so far this summer.
Butter chicken appears to be a favorite among Interislander riders, as new figures show more than 1,000 kg of chicken, or 4,500 servings of butter chicken sold during December and January.
Passengers also ate and drank their way through 10,094 ice cream, 28,932 hot potato, 8,925 hot breakfast, 3,942 ginger beer and 3,509 sushi packs.
But it’s not just the food that keeps you entertained, “Resident Magician” Nigel Kennedy also produced 6,200 balloon animals at that time as well.
Despite this, Interislander’s CEO Walter Rushbrook said that with New Zealand’s borders closed to foreign visitors, it is not surprising that passenger numbers in December and January were 20 per cent lower than the same period the previous year.
This, he said, did not prevent New Zealanders from enjoying their time at their “floating restaurant”.
Rushbrook said their busiest day of summer was January 3, with 6,108 passengers traveling through the Cook Strait on the Interislander ferries.
“It’s not just people and cars traveling with us,” he said.
“During the months of December and January, we carried nearly 7,000 dogs safely across the strait,” he said.
He said crews at Picton and Wellington stations and on the Aratere, Kaiarahi and Kaitaki ferries were doing “a great job of hosting passengers and showing our capital’s harbor, the wide strait of Cook, and the sounds of Marlborough.”
The season was also crowded, he said, at Interislander’s production kitchen, based at Kaiwharawhara in Wellington.
During summer, the kitchen is open seven days and produces between 3,500 and 5,000 food items every day.
“Large quantities of chicken are prepared with butter from scratch and it remains the best-selling meal produced in Kaiwharawhara Kitchen,” said Rushbrook.
“Reader. Travel maven. Student. Passionate tv junkie. Internet ninja. Twitter advocate. Web nerd. Bacon buff.”


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Occurring a Carnival Cruise from Port Miami generally marks the start of a perfect holiday for lots of American citizens. “We’re so glad to be again! “, stated CarnivalCEO Arnold Donald these days.
Carnival Horizon giant sail simply left on July 4th
- Carnival Cruise Line kicked off its first cruise from in virtually 16 months from PortMiami, The Cruise Capital of the Global, these days with the departure of Carnival Horizon, offering a vital spice up to the native economic system and the tens of 1000’s of jobs in South Florida which can be supported through the cruise .
- Carnival’s resumption of provider in Miami supplies visitors with a much-anticipated holiday and is an additional spice up to the economic system each in the neighborhood and all through the state.
- Florida is primary within the country in cruise embarkations with the cruise contributing greater than $nine billion in direct purchases and chargeable for over 159,000 jobs.
In Miami-Dade by myself, cruise task generates roughly $7 billion of spend and 40,000 jobs once a year. Of the 437,000 cruise industry-supported jobs within the USA, just about 37% are in Florida.
Carnival Cruise Line President Christine Duffy, Carnival Company President, and CEO Arnold Donald, and Carnival Emblem Ambassador John Heald kicked off the festivities with a ribbon-cutting rite formally welcoming visitors onboard.
“PortMiami is our primary homeport on the subject of ships and passenger embarkations and these days’s go back to cruising with Carnival Horizon represents crucial first step in getting our corporate again to industry whilst infusing much-needed capital to the 1000’s of employees who depend at the cruise for his or her livelihood,” stated Duffy. “The previous 12 months has been difficult to mention the least and I want to thank our state and native officers, PortMiami, and our industry companions and providers for his or her fantastic toughen and persistence all the way through this time.”
“The restart of cruise ships from Miami is an exhilarating day for Miami’s longshoremen. Now we have roughly 800 participants at PortMiami and their wages dropped up to 80% all the way through the just about 16-month cruise suspension. Lately with Carnival Horizon’s first crusing, we get again to paintings and look ahead to supporting our households once more,” stated Torin Ragin, president, World Longshoremen’s Affiliation (ILA) Native 1416.
Carnival Horizon will set sail these days at four p.m. for a six-day cruise with stops in Amber Cove (Dominican Republic) and the non-public Bahamian island of Part Moon Cay.
Along with Carnival Horizon’s departure this afternoon, Carnival Vista departed Galveston the day before today, with Carnival Breeze departing from Galveston July 15 and Carnival Miracle kicking off the road’s Alaska season from Seattle July 27. Mardi Gras, the road’s latest send, units sail from Port Canaveral on July 31. Different ships within the Carnival fleet will start provider in August.
The arena regarded grim in January when Carnival canceled all upcoming cruises till March 31- and this used to be best the start.


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With the breakout success of Wonder Woman, many are wondering which heroes might be coming to the movies in the future.
Here are five DC heroines who could hold their own on the silver screen.
The Catwoman Premium Format Figure is currently shipping out, so here is what the customers are saying about this fabulous feline femme fatale!
Screen legend Julie Newmar visited Sideshow HQ to check out our Catwoman Premium Format Figure and to spend some time talking with the creative team behind the project.
Sideshow is proud to present our latest collaboration with the incredible Stanley “Artgerm” Lau, bringing you this brand new artist series highlighting the bad girls of Gotham. Check out this behind the scenes look at the collection.
We’re thrilled to announce our latest collaboration with Stanley “Artgerm” Lau – bringing a new femme fatale to his high fashion and pop culture inspired 1:5 scale Artist Series!
Hailing from Hong Kong, Stanley Lau is a designer and concept artist who has brought his own signature blend of eastern and western art styles to the worlds of video games, illustration and comic books. Known by the handle “Artgerm” his bold visual style has garnered great acclaim and earned him an ever growing fan […]
Sideshow is very happy to announce the first piece in our Stanley ‘Artgerm’ Lau Artist Series will be available to Pre-Order on Thursday, March 9, 2017. The Catwoman Statue is the first of three Gotham Sirens which will also include Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy!
Check out these newly unveiled production photos of Sideshow’s Premium Format™ love-letter to Julie Newmar’s Catwoman! There will always be a place in our hearts for the vibrant and wonderful world created for the 1960’s Batman television series. With every BIFF! POW! and BAP! it was pure unadulterated fun. Julie Newmar portrayed the feline fatale […]
We are proud to unveil our latest Premium Art Print, created exclusively for Sideshow by artist Alex Pascenko and featuring two of DC Comics most iconic characters – Batman and Catwoman! Our newest Premium Art Print continues Sideshow’s tradition for offering fine art specifically designed to sit alongside our sculptural work. Drawing inspiration from our […]
Check out the video below to see how to assemble the Catwoman Premium Format™ Figure from the classic Batman TV series!


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Market for mobile and smart phones is getting fiercely competitive. Every now and then, different brands are coming out with their best features to beat the last launch of other brands as well as their previous launch. In such a competitive scenario, the operating systems are being modified and updated, so that users are able to get a better experience while handling their phones or other computing gadgets. While Apple is coming out with revolutionary iOS, with regular updates in its firmware, Android is not far behind in the race. The latter has managed to become the most demanded operating system in the market today, with its up-gradation of the Android OS firmware.
Lot of brands are collaborating actively with the Android platform to release their mobile phones with best features. But, to a large extent, it is the operating platform, which gives the users a smooth experience, while handling their phones. Adding to their mobile’s functioning, is the facility of Androidfirmwareupdatedownload, by which the users are getting a number of superior functionalities. While checking out the videos in the Youtube or playing games in the smart phones, the applications can run properly, if there is a compatible operating system inside the hardware. Within the system of the phones, there is a firmware, which makes the different applications run and allows the users to open these and use as they wish.
The field of applications and software programs is being constantly updated, which in case of Android is quite rapid and advanced. Application development is done with the aim to make it technologically superior and better than previous versions or any other application. Writing tools for such application development is getting advanced with more features, which require a suitable operating system. Realising the importance of releasing such advanced applications, the developers and manufacturers of mobiles are trying to incorporate the best and more recent OS in their mobiles. For this to happen, the hardware is to be synced with the software, which is done by Android firmware update download, once the mobile is already in the market. For such handsets, the users will not have to buy a new handset and still get the most recent OS in their hands, allowing the download of newer applications.
Although the newer handsets have been incorporated with the best custom ROMs for Android, the firmware needs to be altered. It is possible to change the read only memory, albeit slowly, but still the improvement is able to run the newly released application, which will run on the most recent AndroidOSfirmware. Hence, smart phone users will be able to enjoy the widgets and applications such as playing games, reading news, getting news updates and remaining in touch with their friends through social messaging centres. Mobile manufacturers and designers have been putting a lot of thought into the best possible firmware and adding these to the newer handsets. But, those who have already bought the previously launched handsets are also in an advantageous position like their peers. As the bestcustomROMsforAndroidare being planned, it is time for the mobile buyers to celebrate their possessions and justify their expenses.


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Chinese Manufacturing is Going Digital; The U.S. Needs to Follow
The digitization of industrial manufacturing has been a headline topic for the past decade. From HMIs to the IIoT, we’re well into the era of Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing. But digital technology is far from standard in the U.S., and China’s recent announcement of its five-year digitization plan is set to revolutionize its largest producers. China is taking a definitive step forward. Will U.S. manufacturing follow?
A closer look at China’s five-year plan
In a recent announcement from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and seven other departments, China revealed plans to digitize and shift its factories to sophisticated automation over the next five years. These plans are part of the country’s effort to increase its technology and market competitiveness in advanced manufacturing. According to the plan, “By 2025, more than 70 percent of large-scale Chinese enterprises should be digitalized, and more than 500 demonstration manufacturing facilities will be built nationwide.”
China isn’t the only country trying to establish a position at the forefront of the global manufacturing landscape, but it is lacking in software and industrial infrastructure compared to other leading countries. Germany, Japan, and the U.S. are also making efforts to implement more intelligent manufacturing strategies.
China continues to be proactive
Aspects of China’s five-year plan include efforts to increase research in 5G, artificial intelligence, and edge computing. But digital manufacturing isn’t the country’s only initiative. It’s also working to further develop its robotics, cloud computing, and medical equipment industries.
China is working to become self-reliant in several key areas of manufacturing, including semi-conductors, which are currently in short supply. The country has several developers working on processor chips, some of whom are planning to sell their products outside of China soon. If China manages to create enough of its own semi-conductor suppliers, other countries, including the U.S., may fall further behind.
The U.S. is behind the digitization curve
Manufacturing in the U.S. is behind many other countries in its digital transformation initiatives. Compared to countries like China and Germany, the U.S. has made minimal investments in Industry 4.0 technologies. Major producers — particularly those in automotive and aerospace sectors — have embraced advanced tech, but many small-to-medium-sized manufacturers simply can’t break the innovation cost barrier. In fact, a recent Magnet Blueprint Report showed only 7% of manufacturers in Northeast Ohio utilize co-bots and only 18% use automation to increase profits.
The lack of domestic digitization is starting to show in production inefficiency and higher costs. Coupled with widening skills gaps, the U.S.’s failure to digitize could quickly become detrimental to its global ranking as a manufacturing superpower.
Time to pick up the gauntlet
China’s five-year manufacturing plan should motivate U.S. producers to make key investments in the future of domestic digital manufacturing.
Embracing Industry 4.0, and its automation technologies, is fundamental to a competitive future for U.S. manufacturing.


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The Chinese economy is expanding at a faster pace than previously expected, suggesting the country is on track to meet its full-year growth target of around 5 percent, according to newly released data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China. China’s GDP in the first quarter of 2023 expanded 4.5 percent over the same period in 2022, higher than previous forecasts. Reuters, for example, forecast a 4.0 percent growth in the first quarter based on its surveys of 70 economists. A close examination of the data, however, suggests that this recovery is unbalanced and still faces many challenges, including weak domestic and external demand and a continuing lack of private sector confidence. Chinese officials are reassuring entrepreneurs of their support, but statements alone will not restore market confidence. Tangible government actions in support of private enterprises are needed to revive domestic private investment.
An uneven recovery
After China’s zero-tolerance lockdowns, quarantines, and other restrictions were rescinded, the Covid-19 virus spread rapidly through China between December 2022 and January 2023, raising doubts about when people would be able to return to normal personal mobility. In the first quarter of this year, services recovered relatively quickly as mobility rebounded. Value added in services grew 5.4 percent in the first quarter of 2023 in year-over-year terms, while that in secondary industries, including mining, manufacturing, public utility, and construction, grew only 3.3 percent.
The recovery in services gained momentum during the first quarter. Retail sales in January and February combined grew 3.5 percent year over year. This pace accelerated in March with a strong 10.6 percent year-over-year increase, resulting in a 5.8 percent year-over-year growth in retail sales in the first quarter. Restaurants, jewelry, and medicines saw the strongest growth. Value added in the accommodation and catering sectors recorded a nearly 14 percent year-over-year increase in the first quarter, the highest among all service sectors, reflecting a fast recovery in domestic tourism.
Despite the surge in these activities, consumer inflation remains subdued with the consumer price index in March rising merely 0.7 percent year over year, well below the government’s full-year target of around 3 percent, suggesting that domestic demand remains weak. Household savings in the first quarter grew at a faster pace relative to last year, reflecting continued uncertainty about income and jobs.
The pace of recovery in industrial sectors is more mixed. Industrial value added in the first quarter was 3 percent higher than the same period last year. In month-to-month terms, industrial value added in February and March stayed basically unchanged, suggesting that recovery has stagnated. Caixin’s Purchasing Manufacturers’ Index (PMI) also indicates that the momentum of recovery slowed in March with a PMI of 50. The producer price index dropped 2.5 percent in March year over year, the biggest decline since June 2020. Industrial profits dropped by a surprising 23 percent through February year over year, the largest drop since early 2020.
Despite signs of a recovery in exports in March, Chinese manufacturers continue to face weak external demand. Slowing growth throughout the world, especially in the United States and Europe, contributed to a drop in January and February’s merchandise exports of 6.8 percent year over year. Exports recovered strongly in March and grew 14.8 percent, largely thanks to strong electric vehicle sales and exports to Russia. Exports measured in dollars expanded in the first quarter by 0.5 percent compared with the same period last year, but exports by foreign manufacturers declined by 16.3 percent in the first quarter, raising concerns that foreign firms may be accelerating their supply chain relocation away from China.
But the strong growth in exports may not be sustained for the rest of 2023. The sub-indexes for output and total new orders for Chinese goods in Caixin’s PMI index declined in March, although it remains in expansionary territory. The sub-index for manufacturing employment shows layoffs among Chinese manufacturers were on the rise in March. Exports will therefore likely weaken in the second half of the year, even though exports in April may grow given the low base last year.
Property slump is easing
In the property sector, there are signs that the property slump is now easing. Property investment and sales through the first quarter were still in negative territory but by much smaller amounts than last year. New home sales by the 100 largest real estate developers in March expanded by nearly 30 percent year over year. On housing prices, there continues to be a divergence between top-tier cities and lower-tier cities. In year-over-year terms, housing prices in first-tier cities continued to increase in March, while those in second- and third-tier cities continued to drop, but by smaller amounts than in previous months. The government’s rescue plan appears to be starting to work. China’s reopening from the zero-Covid policy also provides a more favorable environment for housing demand to recover. Most likely property will be less of a drag on growth in 2023 than in 2022.
Private investment remains weak
Following pandemic lockdowns and regulatory crackdowns, the confidence of private entrepreneurs remains depressed. Private investment has stalled over the past five quarters while state-led investment has surged. Despite China’s reopening from its draconian Covid policy, the gap between the pace of private and state-led fixed asset investment remains wide through the first quarter of 2023. State-led investment expanded by 10 percent year over year through March, while private-led investment expanded by a mere 0.6 percent. Weakness in private sector activity is at least partly to blame for the renewed surge in the youth unemployment rate, which hit 19.6 percent in March. Given that a record number of 11.6 million college graduates will enter the labor market this year, revitalizing the private sector will be critical to providing enough jobs for them.
The Chinese leadership has tried to restore confidence in the private sector, but the government’s reassurances to entrepreneurs have not been sufficient to raise animal spirits. At the Two Sessions, China’s annual parliamentary meetings, in early March, the president told China’s political elites that private enterprises and private entrepreneurs are “our own people.” The new premier, Li Qiang, also sought to reassure the private sector by visiting multiple private firms in Hunan and Guangdong in his first trip as premier. The provincial government in Hainan recently issued a statement claiming that it will not arrest, detain, prosecute, or jail private entrepreneurs “unnecessarily,” triggering even more worries among entrepreneurs that the Chinese state may arbitrarily arrest individuals. These statements alone will not restore confidence of the private sector. Actions, such as reducing the role of the party-state in the economy, will speak louder than words.
1. A PMI reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 shows contraction.
2. Industrial profits reported by the Chinese statistical authority include only those with an annual revenue over 20 million yuan. Industrial profits data for March 2023 had not been released at the time of writing.
This publication does not include a replication package.


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WAKEFIELD, Mass. & MAIDENHEAD, United Kingdom--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SDL (LSE: SDL) today announced the third stop in its annual SDL Innovate conference schedule, taking place at Hotel Nikko May 11 through 13 in San Francisco. The thought leadership event will feature sessions led by SDL executives, customers and industry experts that examine how smart machines, intelligent analytics, digital content and context-aware systems are shaping the future of customer experience (CX).
Monday will serve as a pre-conference day, featuring 10 dedicated tracks and 45 sessions for marketers, CX professionals, administrators and developers. The sessions, ranging from the basics to deep dive developer sessions, are suitable for all those interested in leveraging the full potential of SDL capabilities to accelerate CX projects. The learning experience will focus on inspirational stories and training sessions led by a mix of SDL executives, customers and industry experts. Business and marketing users can also learn how to effectively plan, execute and measure their omni-channel campaigns in the dedicated “CX 101” track.
Kicking off the conference, SDL CEO Mark Lancaster will present an executive address on Tuesday, delving into the future of SDL and the CX industry. On Wednesday, SDL CMO Paige O’Neill will be joined by leading global brands, including American Express and NetApp, to reveal CX lessons from the trenches, specifically addressing the impact of CX mishaps as well as how to prevent these negative experiences and the steps to take when one does occur. Dennis van der Veeke, SDL’s CTO, will also take the stage on Wednesday to share how organizations can master both the art and science of CX with technology to accelerate their strategies and success.
“Organizations today need a firm strategy in place to meet the increasing needs of their customers,” said Mark Lancaster, CEO and founder, SDL. “At SDL Innovate in San Francisco, attendees will learn about the trends and technologies driving customer experience, including real-world stories from the brands who have been in the trenches and implemented strategies for long-term results.”
Conference attendees will also hear exciting keynote sessions by Nicholas Webb, innovation and CX futurist speaker, Christine Crandell, Forbes contributor and president of New Business Strategies, and Dan Barnicle, vice president of consumer engagement platforms at SapientNitro. Webb will delve into disruptive innovations from the best brands who are destroying their competition, while Crandell will focus on the keys to winning customers for life. Barnicle will talk about the second wave of globalization and the implications for brands transitioning from a multi-national to truly global business model.
The featured customer keynote presentation by Shawn Burns, senior vice president of web and digital marketing at Schneider Electric, will address how to deliver a global marketing, sales and service experience. Several other SDL customers – including Texas Instruments, EMC, Intel and NextIT – will present various sessions to discuss the latest CX trends they’re seeing from an end-user standpoint and also share real-world examples of implementations and results. Customer-led discussions will include those on “Nine use cases for machine translation” and “How to deliver approved engaging content globally,” among others.
SDL (LSE: SDL) is the leader in global customer experience. With a completely integrated cloud solution for content management, analytics, language and documentation, SDL solves the complexity of managing your brand’s digital footprint as it grows across multiple languages, cultures, websites, devices and channels. Seventy-nine of the top 100 global companies trust SDL to help them create authentic, in-context customer experiences that drive demand and loyalty. SDL brings your brand to the world, and the world to your brand. Learn more at SDL.com. Follow SDL on Facebook and Twitter.


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Health Mart hosted its Annual Meeting on July 14, boasting the largest attendance in the franchise network’s history. The meeting built upon last year’s momentum around the Health Mart Pathway that helps independent pharmacy retailers to invest in quality measures and empowers them toward better clinical performance and profitability.
McKesson ideaShare 2017
At McKesson ideaShare 2017, McKesson RxOwnership launched the inaugural Women in Pharmacy Own It Program. The event featured a morning get-together over coffee; a group of successful female Health Mart owners also participated in the panel and networking session that followed.
McKesson ideaShare 2017 featured more than 30 continuing education courses with topics ranging from installing an expanded service offering like med sync or immunizations, to the how-tos in building a stronger front-end business, empowering pharmacy technicians in your practice or learning more about pain points such as DIR fees.
To help attendees get the most out of the conference, McKesson created a mobile app that helped match customer interests with McKesson and Health Mart content and solutions. The app also gave attendees the ability to conduct an assessment of where their pharmacy was in terms of clinical and financial performance, and set goals based on what matters most to their business. Nearly 2,000 attendees downloaded the McKesson ideaShare app, and nearly 1,000 completed the Roadmap Assessment prior to the meeting.
McKesson ideaShare 2017, an interactive forum for independent pharmacists from across the United States, broke attendance records with the number of independent pharmacists and owners on hand to learn about how McKesson, hand in hand with its Health Mart franchise team, can help independents become a preferred destination for patient care.
The annual conference and exhibition is set to offer attendees access to industry thought leadership, pharmacy programs, continuing education courses and networking opportunities to help improve their pharmacies’ performance.
This year's McKesson ideaShare features more than 900 first-time attendees. DSN caught up with first-time attendees Jan Scott, owner of Nicholls Pharmacy in Nicholls, Ga., and Yunus Wasel of Greater Care Pharmacy in Warren, Mich., to ask why they decided to attend McKesson ideaShare this year and what they expect to get out of the meeting.
For more than 30 years, McKesson ideaShare has focused on giving independent pharmacists and owners the knowledge, tools and resources they need to improve their pharmacy’s performance. This year’s conference comes with a warning label.
Many features of the myHealthMart online portal that have been helping Health Mart pharmacists and owners better manage their pharmacy business over the past year have been incorporated into a new mobile app that will be launched at the 2017 McKesson ideaShare meeting.
Visiting New Orleans wasn’t the biggest driver of attendance for those registered for McKesson ideaShare 2017 — McKesson knows because it asked. In an effort to better align this year’s program and educational offerings with what its customers’ need, McKesson asked those planning to attend the conference about the biggest draws.


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Ford Endeavour Will Arrive in its New Avatar by End 2015
Ford Endeavour is a car that can probably take on Tyrannosaurus Rex and win in a fight, or just might get away from it in time. Well, we can’t have a real machine on monster action to prove the above claim but we can report that Ford will be bringing the new generation of the Endeavour by the end of 2015.
Expected to be based on the Everest concept, the car will be called ‘The Ford Everest Concept’ in all markets other than India. The SUV is expected to come in four cylinders of 2.2 litre and 3.0 litre engine variants. It will be available in manual as well as automatic versions. It is also expected to feature six-speed transmissions.
The Everest concept was first showcased in Australia. The SUV will be based on Ranger’s current generation ladder-frame chassis. It will sport a coil-sprung rear suspension.
On the exteriors, the car gets a more aggressive stance over its predecessor while getting a sleeker shape. This design keeps the badass spirit intact, as that is the USP of this car.
The car is currently being developed in Australia and will be assembled in India at Ford’s Chennai plant. It is expected to be priced at Rs. 20-25 lakh and may release by the end of next year.


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Fluffball and Arrow, our two urban chickens, are pretty much the greatest pets ever.
Browsing the "real food" Tag
- DOWNSIZE + RIGHT SIZE
- FOOD + FARMING
- KEEP YOUR TECH ALIVE
- OFF THE GRID
- SOLAR ENERGY
- URBAN SURVIVAL
- ZOMBIES, ETC.
Most of us in the Western world get the majority of our food from the local grocery store. Generally, they are huge buildings that are stocked with an amazing variety of food from across the planet. These massive food stores, however, depend on a supply chain that is much more fragile than it might appear […]
To finally cut through the PR propaganda once and for all, the Union of Concerned Scientists recently released a comprehensive report detailing the “Eight Ways Monsanto Fails at Sustainable Agriculture.” Here are the highlights.
The USDA recently awarded $40.2 million in grants to farmers, ranchers and farmer-controlled rural business ventures, as well as some urban farming operations.
Hoop houses and greenhouses help extend the season and make year-round gardening possible. If you’re itching to get your hands in the dirt, but there’s still snow on the ground, these unique growing structures could help.
DEFRA, Britain’s Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, recently release new guidelines with regard to these food date labels, stating that the use of ‘sell by’ or ‘display until’ labels is confusing to the consumer.
Just days ago, President Obama unveiled the American Jobs Act. Here at Insteading, we’ve got a much cheaper plan: skip the big chain grocery store and shop at a farmers’ market instead.
This summer, Live Real has joined forces with Rooted In Community, Seventh Native American Generation, and Food & Water Watch to assert the right of all people to real food, real culture and real jobs.


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In case you’ve been living in the sewers for the past few weeks: Pokémon Go has taken the world by storm, with Millennials leading the charge. The latest Pokémon release is an augmented-reality game that players can install on their phones—for free. Nineties kids are in heaven right now. Despite their despairing debt and lack of money, they can relive the glory days of sitting on their living room floors, watching the very first Pokémon series while belting the opening song, without worry for their wallets. Though it might have already hit peak popularity, Pokémon Go has become more than a game—it’s a community that even social media can’t mimic.
The game combines our phones’ cameras and GPS capabilities to bring users on a virtual-yet-in-real-life Pokémon hunt. Although young Millennials may reap the most nostalgia from playing the game, other generations have joined in on the fun too. The game has built generational bridges, one could say (wink, wink). A quick walk around the neighborhood, and you’ll see a Gen Xer with their 7 year old virtually catching Pokémon. Head to the park, grocery store, or coffee shop and you’ll see parents and grandparents with their children and grandchildren, each of them monitoring the area for an elusive Pikachu or Clefairy. Millennials are bringing groups of friends to socialize and catch Pokémon (and gasp! even make new friends), and older generations are eager to ask them for quick tips on how to play. Just last week, I went to the lake with some friends to catch Pokémon, and a 60-some-year-old woman approached us. We happily chatted for a few minutes about our experiences and answered her questions before parting ways.
In this way, Pokémon Go has become a social experiment of sorts. People who would otherwise quietly play games in the comfort of their own homes are heading to local hotspots and interacting with fellow “trainers.” Some people are making neighborhood acquaintances for the first time. And the conversations don’t stop at the in-game experiences and strategies: fans are talking about it’s wildfire contagion, public reception of the game, Nintendo stocks, and, maybe the best part, reminiscing about the good ol’ days. Millennials are excited to bond with peers and those from other generations about something they’ve loved since they were little.
What’s more, this kind of advance in technology is the type that shapes the technological expectations of younger generations. It contributes to Millennials’ and Gen Edgers’ expectation that technology should be constantly evolving and improving, and it may play a role in shaping the future of gaming that Gen Edgers expect. The question now becomes, who will create Harry Potter Go?


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SAN DIEGO —
Many San Diego businesses are struggling to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic without federal relief funds. According to a new report from the Washington Post, a lot of that stimulus money ended up going to big businesses with millions in the bank.
Tim Kirkpatrick, the owner of Wavelines, a surf, skate and snow shop, is in the same place a lot of small business owners are right now: trying to survive while also seeking help from the federal government.
"I didn't even get to apply for two weeks and the money ran out a day later,” he said.
While the government unveiled a $369-billion relief program to help local mom-and-pop businesses, the Washington Post reports a big chunk of the money went to big businesses. Some of those businesses have up to 500 employees and several have CEOs who make upwards of $10 - $15 million a year.
Meanwhile, Kirkpatrick and the Carmel Mountain Ranch store he's owned for 27 years have yet to receive a dime.
“It's a little bizarre to read in the papers that the Lakers are a small business and some of these restaurant chains and seems like this classification should have some tiers in it, but that's frustrating,” he said.
The LA Lakers – worth $4 billion – have since returned the $4.6 million the company received as part of the stimulus package. Others have also followed suit.
“I wasn't anticipating the bigger businesses taking the money,” Kirkpatrick said. “Once we got further along in the process, I guess I understand how that happened and it's a bad look.”
The full list of big companies has yet to be released but Kirkpatrick hopes that changes.
“I think that some of those companies probably do need it but the ones that don't, like the Los Angeles Lakers, I think as soon as that gets released, they have to give it back because it looks so ridiculous and there's probably tons of those out there,” he said.
As for Kirkpatrick and his shop Wavelines, he’s trying to keep things going with curbside pickup and online ordering.
“I'm working a lot harder to make a lot less money than I ever have,” he said.
All he can do is hope they get some sort of stimulus relief soon.
“I'm just trying to be creative and, in the moment, do what I can to show up at work and to show up for my family,” Kirkpatrick said.