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By Nicole Bozkurt and Julie Young
The Amazon Rainforest has immeasurable intrinsic and ecological value, but even such– the rainforest is burning. The rainforest is home to the enormous Amazon river, which contains 20 percent of the world’s flowing fresh water. Although the Amazon covers only four percent of the earth’s surface, it contains a third of all known terrestrial plant, animal, and insect species and 10 percent of all biomass on Earth. This means that when deforestation takes place, the vast amounts of carbon that the forest stores are released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
The state of Rondônia, Brazil was once home to over 208,000 square kilometers of rainforest, but fires have left 67,764 square kilometers barren. That is nearly the size of the entire state of West Virginia, lost to deforestation. Scientists and environmentalists say the reason the Amazon is on fire is because farmers are deliberately starting blazes in their efforts to clear land for crops or livestock. One researcher estimated that humans start 99% of all Amazon rainforest fires.
It has been 326 days since the first fires began blazing the Amazon. This massive rainforest that once converted carbon dioxide into oxygen is now releasing carbon dioxide due to these fires. As time goes by, the rainforest is being further depleted. Once deforestation in the Amazon reaches 25% of the rainforest, there will be significant global impacts– and with nearly 15-17% of rainforest burned to the ground, we need to act deftly to save this vulnerable habitat.
Once the deforestation of the Amazon reaches 25%, an irreversible process called dieback will begin. As more earth is torched, there are fewer trees to cycle moisture throughout the rainforest ecosystem, eventually drying out the forest and leaving it as a savannah. Without these vast rainforests in the world, the earth will lose massive carbon sequestration sites. This excess carbon will join the rest of the world’s carbon emissions in the atmosphere, leading to further global warming.
Fires in the Amazon are an unnatural occurrence, meaning they can only be traced back to human destruction. These fires are deliberately set to clear massive amounts of rainforest for cattle farming. Since Brazil is the largest beef exporter in the world, soy is grown, where the forest once stood, to feed cattle. As farms expand, so do the fires.
The Brazilian Amazon is 1.5 times larger than portions of the jungle found in any other country, making Brazilian policy and protections particularly important globally. Under President Bolsonaro, Brazil’s environmental policy enforcement has been replaced with an order to clear the Amazon. These fires are not only affecting the thousands of species that inhabit the Amazon rainforest, but also the idigenous people. Bolsonaro took away indigenous rights, fighting to destroy the rainforest with Brazil’s military backing him. Activists are worried that the rainforest will be completely destroyed under Bolsonaro’s power.
“Even in the face of an alarming scenario for the Amazon, with increased fires, deforestation, invasions of protected areas, and violence against Indigenous Peoples, the government hasn’t presented any consistent policy to protect the forest and its peoples; on the contrary, the government is taking the side of environmental crime,” said Cristiane Mazzetti, an Amazon campaigner.
According to Smithsonian, the Amazon rainforest home to 30 million people. Of this, 1.6 million of these inhabitants are indigenous, and they belong to more than 400 different indigenous groups. Some are isolated tribes who choose to avoid contact with the outside world. The indigenous populations have held a crucial role protecting the Amazon for thousands of years, though they are met with negligence and disregard from Bolsonaro. Indigenous peoples have established their own organizations in all nine countries of the Amazon region.
The U.S. plays a large role in Amazonian deforestation through the consumption of products that contribute to deforestation in their supply chains. Despite a dire political situation in Brazil, U.S. markets can create a real impact when it comes to curbing current the alarming trends. The U.S., as a major purchaser of beef and soy from Brazil, can play a large role in protecting the Amazon from further deforestation.
For example, a new motion is being adopted by the City of Los Angeles to help eliminate the purchase of products derived from deforestation. Bolsonaro seems to pay attention when it comes to trade, and actions in the U.S. to address the deforestation crisis can hopefully serve to push the political needle in Brazil.
Weakening environmental protection and continual threats on Indigenous lands threaten not only the Amazon but the entire world. An analysis of the carbon sequestration capacity of the Amazon, by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, found that between 2003 and 2016, the Amazon actually emitted more carbon than it could absorb. However, Indigenous land and protected territories absorbed more carbon than areas without protection. These researchers found that 70 percent of the total carbon emitted from the Amazon between 2003 and 2016 came from areas outside of Indigenous-held land and protected areas.
WANT TO HELP?
Sign this petition by Amazon Watch to End the Big Business of Burning:
Donate to the Amazon Aid Foundation:


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DICE has promised Battlefield 2042 players that two massive patches are coming to the game soon that will fix dozens of gameplay issues surrounding the game. According to DICE, the developer has teams across the globe who are working 24/7 on the game to deliver improvements to the experience.
The studio confirmed that two major game updates are coming our way in the next few weeks that will improve the game and fix dozens of bugs users are currently facing. The first patch is set to arrive this week on 25 November for all platforms.
READ MORE Call of Duty Vanguard Review – Shooty Shoot Bang-Bang
While DICE has yet to share the specifics on these major patches and updates, the developer is aware of the problems facing Battlefield 2042 players. One major issue is the hit detectors users have constantly been complaining about for weeks now. DICE claims that in rare instances, the servers aren’t correctly registering hitmarkers. DICE claims that they are working around the clock to identify what is causing this exact issue. By the sound of things, this hitmaker fix won’t arrive with the first update this week.
DICE also says that they are addressing the aiming issues in Battlefield 2042. The developer says that when a user tweaks their in-game settings, these options aren’t saving correctly causing issues with aiming and sensitivity. DICE says that this fix won’t arrive until the second update in December. However, they have a fix for it already but are currently testing it out. DICE says:
“On console, we’ve been performing similar investigations around the consistency of Aim Assist. We’re aware of the issues that you’ve helped to raise on this front, and wanted to volunteer that it’s not consistently behaving in line with our designs. We’re on it, and will keep you updated.
As for the performance in Battlefield 2042, DICE has acknowledged the game relies heavily on CPU hardware. While they can’t exactly improve a low-end CPU experience, the studio is working on performance improvements to reduce the load on playerss’ hardware, specifically surrounding the CPU load. They are also constantly tweaking the game engine to squeeze more juice out of it but they say these improvements take much longer than expected.
In short, DICE are working on Battlefield 2042. Most of the major issues aren’t going to be fixed anytime soon by the sound of things. The performance improvements will arrive sometime in the future but the next two updates might just be the fix you’re looking for… Or so we hope.
NOW READ Battlefield 2042 Known Issues and Fixes

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A new report by Counterpoint Research estimates that India surpassed the United States to become the second largest smartphone market with an estimated 158 million devices shipped to the country in 2019. China is still the global leader at number one. Interestingly, India’s surge to second place is largely thanks to Chinese smartphone manufacturers.
Phones manufactured by companies like Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, and Realme made up a whopping 72 percent of devices shipped to India in 2019. The report largely attributes series’ of budget-priced phones from these companies as leading to their growth in the country.
Click here to read more from Mashable.


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Update, May 28:
They did it! Art students at Strawberry Mansion High have scored $50,000 for their school’s arts program by winning the grand prize in Vans Custom Culture contest. Their Philly sneaker design was deemed tops in the “physical shoe” category, beating out of thousands of submissions from around the nation.
Original story, published May 13:
A soft pretzel. The Rocky statue. A cheesesteak, wiz wit. And yes, of course, “jawn.”
Illustrated in vibrant graffiti style, these local staples adorn a fresh pair of Vans slides, thanks to five Strawberry Mansion High School students and their teacher. The team entered their 215-inspired design into the 11th annual Vans Custom Culture.
Out of thousands around the nation, the Philly kicks have made it into the top 50 and are now contenders for the $50,000 grand prize.
Will they win the funding for the school’s art department? Up to you. You can vote once a day for your favorite physical shoe design (*ahem* the Strawberry Mansion one) and your favorite digital design on the Vans Custom Culture site. Voting closes on Friday, and Vans will announce the top six winners the week of May 25.
Students entered the contest under the leadership of first year art teacher Heather La Pera, with work starting in January, according to principal Brian McCracken.
They worked piece by piece — adding a design element here, a painting embellishment there, with the project integrated into regular class learning.
“Just getting to see how excited children were to show off their work as they came up with these clever ideas was so exciting,” recalled McCracken, 33. “The planning was organic. As kids just get really excited, the ideas start generating.”
Philly’s Vans are teeming with local shoutouts.
The shoes are built around a red, white and blue 215 graphic that replaces the traditional “1” with an illustration of Center City’s One Liberty Place skyscraper. A hoagie is sandwiched between a styrofoam cup of rainbow water ice and a Broad Street street sign. There’s even a hot pink ode to “Fresh Prince” on the backs of the shoes.
McCracken’s not sure which place Strawberry Mansion is in. He noticed the photo of the school’s design ascending on the voting page, and hopes that means the sneakers are climbing up the leaderboard, too.
Strawberry Mansion is the only Philly area school in the contest. McCracken thinks his school’s sneaks also stand out for another reason.
“Someone mentioned to me if you were a sneakerhead a lot of other styles don’t speak to that. When I look at it, I think that the Philly one, you could wear,” he said.
Vans’ Custom Culture contest usually awards schools $75k, but a spokesperson for the brand said it had to restructure this year’s competition because of COVID-19 shutdowns.
Some schools couldn’t finish their physical designs in time, so Vans opened a digital design version of the contest and adjusted the prize winnings to $50k for each winning school in the physical and digital sneaker contest, giving away $100k total. Two runners up in each category get $10k each.
Strawberry Mansion High is an under-resourced school that was nearly closed down in 2013 and has since battled a historically bad rep. McCracken said the school would use its $50k winnings to bolster its media career path program. Students in that program should be using the newest version of Adobe, with all the compatible certifications, computers and cameras. But, said McCracken, that’s costly.
“We make it work with some free versions,” he said. “And that’s just compliments to the teacher for making it work in the current situation.”
Right now, the school doesn’t have any other potential funding sources to fill that void, McCracken said.
“[Winning] would be a wonderful way to start with all the pieces, instead of trying to seek them out and put them together ourselves.”


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ODESSA, TX (KWES) - Card cloning is starting to become a trend in the Permian Basin and when you're caught in the act, you can bet Odessa Crimestoppers are looking for you. Credit card cloning is a new technique where someone gets your credit card details, copies them onto a card, and uses it to make purchases.
"There is a man in there buying a GPS," said Susan Rogers, with Odessa Crimestoppers. "The credit card receipt shows the numbers to this lady's credit card so we know it was a cloned card and that is what investigators are telling us."
At least he wasn't "clonely" during this purchase. You'll see two Hispanic males who will turn out to be persons of interest.
"Two Hispanic males that come up and talk to our suspect," said Rogers. "They all act like they're together , so investigators are interested in who our suspect is and who the two people are that are with him."
As "bacloney" as all of this is, Odessa Crimestoppers want to make sure you are aware of the possibility of someone making an exact replica of your credit card.
"Check your account, look at your purchases and the charges that are on there and if something doesn't seem right, check it out right away," said Rogers. "Get it to investigators so we can get it stopped and find out if that's what happened to your card."
After all the best way to stop a charging bull is to take away his credit card.
"We want to warn people and we'd like to see if we could put a stop to it," said Rogers.


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Abandoned shopping carts policy at Sault to streamline recovery time, adviser says
Many retailers and communities find it difficult to collect stray shopping carts. They end up being abandoned in ditches, on city streets, or on public or private property.
The City of Sault Ste. Marie tackles the problem, along with city councilor Matthew Shoemaker hopes to fix the problem once and for all. He says it is a constant problem in his parish.
“They are unsightly; often they will be filled with garbage, if people take it home, put their garbage in there and then push it into the woods,” he said. There could also be a liability issue for the city or a retailer if someone is injured, involving a shopping cart.
Shoemaker says there is an area in town where there are at least five outlets and all of them have their own shopping carts. Customers leave the store property with a cart to help them carry their purchases home, then abandon the cart.
“Whether it’s in their own backyard, on the boulevard, on the sidewalk, by the side of the road, in a trail, in a park, there is never a shortage of places to throw them,” said Shoemaker. “There have been reports of carts 10 to 12 kilometers from these stores, so they are traveling.”
Streamline payback time
Under the new regulation, each retail store must submit a management plan for the recovery and return of abandoned carts found outside of their property lines. This plan shows who to contact at the store if you have a complaint about a stray cart. They will have a set time limit to retrieve it.
“It can’t be once every three months,” Shoemaker said. “It has to be timely. It has to be a system where once they are notified, a process is triggered that kicks the cart off the boulevard, off the sidewalk, off private property.”
Most retailers already have some sort of process for collecting shopping carts that have been removed from store ownership, but collection times are all different.
“What we’re trying to do is streamline the process.” Shoemaker said it would likely be between five and ten days for retailers to pick up the cart. There could also be a fine for the store if the cart is not collected within the allotted time.
Two years to find a solution
It was in November 2019, Shoemaker proposed a resolution after researching what other municipalities had done to reduce abandoned shopping cart issues. The settlement was approved Monday evening.
“It took almost two years to present a draft regulation on the effective implementation of a correction or solution to the problem,” he said.
“I think having something in place is a better place to start than just complaining about it to the board over the past decade, which has happened in the past,” Shoemaker said.
One grocery store, Pino’s, says that in an average year it loses about 25 carts worth about $ 200 each. The store management hires someone to collect their abandoned carts.
The Sault Ste. Marie comes into effect in September.


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As one of the five global machine tool exhibitions, the largest and most professional machine tool exhibition in Europe AMB China 2014 will be held from October 13th to 15th, 2014 at Nanjing International Expo Center.
Zhengzhou, China August 09, 2014
According to iAbrasive latest news, as one of the five global machine tool exhibitions, the largest and most professional machine tool exhibition in Europe AMB China 2014 will be held from October 13th to 15th, 2014 at Nanjing International Expo Center. AMB China 2014 will serve as the international platform for the industry in China's strongest manufacturing region. Nearly 400 exhibitors will present at the exhibition, covering a total of 30,000 square meters.
Business Giants Present
In previous AMB China site, famous exhibitors have increased considerable popularity and public praise for the exhibition, based on which AMB China 2014 is to reach a new height in famous brand engagement and product range: besides the famous machine tool company EMAG in Germany, DMG MORI and INDEX, renowned cutter manufacturer Walter, LMT Tool, Guehring, Horn, Amaya and the biggest robot manufacturer in Germany KUKA will be present at the grand exhibition. Participating countries include Germany, France, America, Swiss, Austria, Israel, China-Taiwan and many other regions.
China Metal Working & Forming Exhibition follows Stuttgart metal processing tradition and positioning, and will design product exhibition area for different buyers and visitors. Up till now, the exhibition has the following topics:
*Factory Automation & Robot Theme Exhibition
*High-end Stock Equipment Recycling Subject
*China Aeronautics and Astronautics Manufacturing Technology Subject
Each theme exhibition will focus on the high and new technology as well as advanced idea. The renowned exhibitor KUKA will be engaged in automation equipment and smart manufacturing subjects, presenting the most effective solution to tens of thousands of visitors.
Visitors Recruitment in Full Swing
The sponsor has invited various parallel fields including machine tool, auto parts, rail transportation, new energy, Aeronautics and Astronautics, shipbuilding, communication, etc. By visiting Jiangsu industrial parks and market campaign, the exhibition is likely to recruit much more visitors than those of last year.
The official site of AMB China is available at: http://www.ambchina.com/English/Default.aspx.
For more information about latest exhibitions in abrasives industry, please visit: http://www.iabrasive.com/articles/category/trade-show


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The Sony Xperia Z3+ is available to pre-order now for those eager to get their hands on it first.
The new flagship smartphone from Sony will be available for pre-order exclusively from Carphone Warehouse, according to the company. Pre-orders begin today with availability in store from 26 June.
The Sony Xperia Z3+ will be available on contract from £32 per month with an upfront charge of £60. The handset will be available in Black, White and Ice Green.
The Sony Xperia Z3+ is the successor to the flagship Xperia Z3. The 5.2-inch, 1080p screen offers 424ppi while the 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 810 prcoessor shovels out plenty of power.
The Xperia Z3+ comes with Sony's latest 20.7-megapixel camera in the rear with a 5-megapixel selfie camera in the front.
The Z3+ is the slimmest of the Xperia's yet at just 6.9mm, making it a meagre 144g. Despite getting rid of the charging port cover the handset is still water and dust proof.
Sony says the battery will last your two days and will charge for a full day's worth of power in just 45-minutes.
While Carphone Warehouse claims the pre-order is an exclusive we expect this is for a limited time only.
Shop for cell phones, prepaid phones and cell phone plans at AT&T Wireless. AT&T is a wireless telecommunications company providing coverage to millions of customers in the U.S. AT&T offers exclusive products from Apple, Nokia, Sharp, Sony, LG, Moto, Samsung and other manufacturers. The cellular company remains a favourite of consumers who like its sharp voice quality and discounts on cell phone plans.


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Dubai shoppers will be able to purchase their very own robot when a dedicated robotics store opens in the emirate next month, its founders have claimed.
UAE-based firm Action-to-Action, which helps technology start-ups take their inventions to market, said it is to open the world’s first ‘robotics and innovation store’ at Dubai Festival City on July 3.
The store, called Innovators, will feature more than 100 innovative robotics products, from brands such as EZ Robot, Wonder Workshop, DTS Robotics, Amaryllo, Quitbit and Sen.se.
Robotics start-ups will offer visitors hands-on experience with the latest technologies. The store will have a dedicated section for robotics, where shoppers can “interact” with robots and learn more about their functions before deciding whether or not to purchase one.
The shop aims to “visualise the future transformation of consumer electronics retail”, Action-to-Action said.
One promotional video on its Facebook page said: “We wanted to create a coding language that makes robotics every child’s play. Since when was coding this cool?”
However, it is understood the products on offer are intended for adults, as well as children.
Cizar Abugazaleh, managing director at Action-to-Action, told Channelmea.com this month: “The world is embracing robotics, and we are proud to be the first to offer robots that suit a variety of segments such as education, services, recreation and for domestic functions.
“We are enabling innovators to take their products to a wider marketplace. `Innovators’, as the name suggests, will give innovative technology start-ups a platform to make their products accessible to customers in the region.”
The store is the world’s first electronics store to not list traditional electronics products such as laptops, tablets, desktops and mobile phones, Action-to-Action claims.
“The introduction of robotics into the consumer electronics space is proof that customers demand more from their devices,” Abughazaleh said.
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As an somewhat contradictory example, in San Francisco USA, vaping is now of course banned, however sales of legal marijuana and tobacco will continue as usual. San Francisco has often been considered more progressive, arguably detrimentally so, than the rest of the US in its approach to drugs and unorthodox lifestyles. Marijuana was legalised in California for medical use in 1996, after a campaign by Aids activists from the city, and for recreational use in 2016. Vaping, on the other hand, has crossed a line. The key argument for the ban always seems to end up in the same place, it is for the betterment and protection of under 18’s. However the likelihood of any teen turning to fast cars, alcohol, marijuana or standard smoking is equally a risk, so why target vape so vehemently?
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently said that the use of e-cigarettes as a “crisis among America’s youth”.
In the UK, meanwhile, the medical establishment is endorsing vaping as an aid to giving up smoking. My local vape shop in London is colourful, thriving, offers a panoply of flavours and displays a banner the length of its storefront proclaiming: “Vaping is 95% safer than smoking, according to NHS and Cancer Research UK.” Public Health England, PHE reported in 2015, the government executive agency and watchdog that offers guidelines on health protection issues.
A transatlantic rift has opened up over vaping and health. In the US, the war on vaping is being pursued by activists, politicians and scientists who believe that tobacco companies are cynically promoting e-cigarettes as a means to get people addicted to nicotine, which will – sooner or later – lead them to cigarettes. In the UK, anti-smoking campaigners and health experts counter that for many adult smokers, vaping offers the best hope of avoiding a premature death. However this gateway effect has yet to be fully proven, and ecigarettes seem to be the scapegoat to the big tobacco conglomerates. The key driver in this was the formation of the small JUUL devices and possibly its subsequent marketing.
The soaring popularity of vaping among the young in the US is largely down to JUUL, which is a tiny black device that looks like a USB stick and fits into the palm of ones hand. In 2004, two graduate students came up with the idea for an electronic alternative to smoking. They launched Juul in 2015, which quickly defined the market; by July 2019, Juul accounted for 75% of US e-cigarette sales. Since then, its fortunes have taken a dive. The company is accused, in dozens of lawsuits from San Diego to New York City via social media campaigns featuring youthful models. Opponents claim Juul pods are easier for novice vapers to inhale, since they contain nicotine salts instead of straight nicotine, further softened with teen-friendly flavourings such as mango, cool cucumber and creme brulee. Juul has repeatedly denied it has marketed to teens.


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Seagate Technology Inc has teamed up with Gadzoox Microsystems Inc, a San Jose-based maker of fiber channel Storage Area Networking (SAN) products to expand the SAN market through joint product development and marketing activities. As part of the deal, Seagate will invest $10m in Gadzoox and takes a seat on the company’s board. Seagate says the investment is a reflection of the importance of fiber channel SAN to the company’s long-term strategy in the high-end disk drive market.
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Hipgnosis has spent more than one billion dollars (£720 million) snapping up 84 back catalogues as the music rights investor continues its rapid expansion.
The London-listed firm said it saw the like-for-like value of its portfolio jump by 10.4% over the year to March.
The group hailed a “remarkable year” which saw the business buy catalogues including music by Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, Blondie and Barry Manilow.
Hipgnosis said it also intends to increase its annual dividend by 5% following the period of growth.
Merck Mercuriadis, founder of the fund, said the pandemic has “accelerated the change in consumer behaviour to consuming music by streaming”.
The group said streaming income increased by 18.4% in the second half of the year compared with the previous six-month period.
Mr Mercuriadis said: “Revenues have been highly resistant during the course of this incredibly challenging year and are well placed for future growth, with global streaming adoption beating all expectations, seeing the 30 million paid subscribers when we first started grow to 450 million paid subscribers today to what are forecast to be two billion paid subscribers by the end of the decade.
“This has turned music from being a discretionary or luxury purchase to very much being a utility as a result of the convenience and access afforded by streaming.
“Going forward this accelerated streaming will be enhanced as revenues from TikTok, Peloton, Triller, Roblox, and other rapidly emerging digital platforms start to be paid through.”
Hipgnosis said it has also been buoyed by stronger TV and film revenues, which it grew from 9% to 15% by the end of the year.
Shares in the company edged 0.2% lower in early trading on Monday.


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Uber mistakenly sent out an email to some of its drivers and delivery workers last month offering to cover some of their health insurance costs — only to revoke the offer two weeks later. From a report: On May 26th, an email from Uber with the enticing subject line “It’s a great time to get health coverage” appeared in the inbox of an unspecified number of the company’s drivers and delivery workers. When they opened the email, they were greeted by an even more alluring proposition: “Uber can help cover your healthcare costs.” Drivers and couriers for Uber are classified as independent contractors, making them ineligible for employer-sponsored health insurance plans. For years, many of these workers have lobbied for more benefits and protections, only to face vicious opposition from Uber.
So one can only imagine the shock from drivers who opened this email and saw an offer for subsidies ranging from $613.77 to $1,277.54, depending on the type of insurance plan they had and the amount of hours they worked each week. That kind of money could be transformative for drivers, many of whom subsist on poverty-level wages and are struggling to find work amid a steep drop in demand during the pandemic. What could account for this radical change in position by Uber? As it turns out, nothing has changed. Uber intended only to send the email to drivers and delivery workers in California, and not any other state.


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By Paul Sandle and Sarah Mills
GLASTONBURY, England – Festival-goers are determined to have a blast at Glastonbury and put the rising cost of fuel, food and drink to the back of their minds until they leave Worthy Farm on Monday after a weekend of escapism.
A majority of the 200,000 people at the renowned British music festival secured a ticket in autumn 2019, when ‘coronavirus’ was a word familiar to few outside the science community and inflation was 1.5%.
Two and half years later, inflation is 9.1%.
Although COVID restrictions are over, the festival scene is not immune to the pressure, with both vendors and revellers feeling the impact.
“We’re probably going to fork out a lot of money over the weekend whether we like it or not,” said Daisy Wakefield, a 25-year-old mental health worker from Manchester.
“I think it’s kind of impossible to go to a festival and not end up spending over 200 quid (pounds) probably on booze, food and travel.”
Graphic designer Ben Gale said price rises would not make a difference to his plans.
“I’m just going to not look at it and then suffer the consequences later,” he said. “You can’t be penny-pinching once you’re here, especially as we waited so long to get here.”
Meals from the festival food stalls cost as much as 15 pounds ($18) or so, although options are available for less than 10 pounds and some vendors have meals for a fiver.
“The meal price is getting on for nine quid a go, whereas it was probably six or seven quid last time, so it’s not the end of the world,” said 57-year-old Martin Price.
GLAD TO BE BACK
Stallholders said the cost of energy, ingredients and labour had gone up, exacerbated by suppliers leaving the industry during the pandemic.
“I’m so glad that Glastonbury is back and I’m proud to be here, it’s such a great atmosphere,” said Mohammed Tadimi as he served a long queue at his Exotic Tagine stall.
He said all the ingredients for his Moroccan dishes had increased, from chicken to vegetable oil. Lamb had risen from around nine pounds a kilo to 16 pounds, he said.
“I kept my prices the same since 2019,” he said. “But probably next year if I am going to be coming back I’ll put the prices slightly higher.”
Matt Dunford, the co-founder of Tunbridge Wells coffee shop chain Fine Grind, is a first-time vendor at the festival.
He said it was hard to find baristas since Brexit, although it helped that people wanted to work at Glastonbury.
“Our costs have probably gone up by about 8-10% on buying coffee, you can pass on some of that but you can’t pass on the whole thing,” he said.
“We’re lucky because with coffee and food, it’s something people want and it doesn’t break the bank,” he said, adding that his team had been serving drinks, cakes and cookies nonstop for more than five hours a day.
Ailbhe Quinn, a 29-year-old teacher from Ireland, said Glastonbury would probably be her vacation this year.
“We’re happy enough after being locked up for so long to spend the money,” she said. “But at the same time you need to check the bills will be paid.”
($1 = 0.8153 pounds)


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YouTube TV starts streaming in five USA cities
- Author: Douglas Reid Apr 06, 2017,
Apr 06, 2017, 2:37
YouTube TV's lineup covers more than 50 channels, including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN, Fox Sports networks, and Comcast SportsNet. A born-and-raised Angeleno who graduated from New York University, he now lives in Los Angeles.He has broken stories on Snapchat's ad plans, Hulu founding CEO Jason Kilar's attempt to take on YouTube and the assemblage of Amazon's ad-tech stack; analyzed YouTube's programming strategy, Facebook's ad-tech ambitions and ad blocking's rise; and documented digital video's biggest annual event VidCon, BuzzFeed's branded video production process and Snapchat Discover's ad load six months after launch.
What can you expect from YouTube TV?
For customers who can get YouTube TV, Google is offering a one-month free trial and will send out a complimentary Chromecast after the first month's payment. It also says it will add new cities to its service. Google wants to ensure everything is working properly before the masses can join the service and enjoy live video streaming from major television channels from any device. More cities are expected further down the line, so if you're outside the launch regions, you'll have to satisfy your anxiety with the pre-release impressions sweeping the web.
La Liga investigate 12-0 scoreline
Ruiz also spoke to Cadena Ser and reportedly said: "In principle the orders came from above, from the coach". Saad did say that Barcelona had nothing to do with the match-fixing and just did what they had to do.
Yes, YouTube TV is just like network and basic cable television.
As an offering, YouTube TV covers most of what people are watching on TV with a few exceptions.
Google said that AMC, BBC America, IFC, Sundance TV, WE tv and BBC World News will soon be included in the service as well. Membership also gives access to original series and movies featured on its other subscription streaming service, YouTube Red. Sundance Now and Shudder will also be available as individual add-ons, joining Fox Soccer Plus and Showtime. Bundlers like YouTube need to make tough decisions about which networks to include, otherwise they'll end up with the same sky-high prices that are making cable less attractive. Will the many young viewers who watch YouTube videos actually consider paying for a streaming service to see more conventional TV?


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Apple Saves Billions Of Dollars By Removing Chargers, EarPods From Box; Will Chinese Brands Follow?
More Than Environment Reasons
When Apple announced it would stop shipping chargers and EarPods, it cited environmental reasons. Apple said removing these two components also ensured smaller packaging boxes. This would further allow Apple to fit 70 percent more devices in its shipping pallet, allowing the iPhone maker to send out more devices at a time.
On the other hand, Apple said removing the charger and the EarPods would reduce its yearly carbon emissions by 2 million metric tons. In other words, Apple claimed it was equal to taking 500,000 cars off the road. But the move has been more than environmental reasons for Apple as it has now saved billions of US dollars.
Apple Saved Billions Of Dollars Without Chargers, EarPods
Apple announced its move to stop shipping charging adapters and EarPods along with a new iPhone, starting with the iPhone 12 series. The move was criticized as new iPhone buyers would have to shell out extra for a charging adapter, which is generally shipped alongside a new phone.
Apple said the move was aimed to make the Cupertino-based company more environment-friendly. Everyone knew Apple was going to save huge profits as well. A report from Daily Mail has revealed just how much Apple has saved by stopping the charger and EarPods with the iPhone.
The report states Apple has saved about 5 billion Pound, which is around 6.5 billion US dollars. In other words, Apple has secured the cost of its new 5G modem iPhones by simply removing the chargers and EarPods from the box. But that's just one aspect of the bigger picture.
Apple said removing the charger and EarPods also meant a smaller retail box. This also means it's reducing the shipping cost by roughly 40 percent. Plus, Apple is making more money by charging separately for the chargers and EarPods, which are quite expensive than its Android counterparts.
Will Chinese Brands Follow Apple Model?
Apple is saving a whopping amount by simply removing the charger and EarPods. Samsung followed suit with its premium Galaxy S series, removing the charging adapter. This leaves us with Chinese brands like Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, OnePlus, and others. Presently, all Chinese phones ship a phone with a charger.
Companies stopped sending earphones long time back and now have dedicated releases for audio accessories. Android phones from Chinese brands also bring in super-fast charging support as we saw with the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge.
Now looking at how Apple has managed to save billions, it won't be surprising if Chinese brands follow suit. However, this would take a while to make the shift, especially in markets like India. One can expect such changes only in the most premium phones released by Chinese brands. Until then, your new Android phone will still come with a charger!


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We would scrutinize production details of food for safe consumption, but we are ignorant of such facts about clothing, not to mention the “price” that mankind has to pay for producing a piece of clothing.
We rarely relate to our clothing when we talk about pollution. The waste created by textile industries worldwide is about 92 million tons per annum, meaning, every second about 3 tons, an equivalence of a truck-load of textile waste goes to the landfill. It is predicted that the textile waste would reach 134 million tons per annum in year 2030.
The convenience of online shopping and fast moving fashion trend have changed consumers’ buying habit and their attitude towards clothing. Brand marketing further abets consumers’ obsession and desires. According to statistics, 80 billion pieces of clothes are produced yearly, which is 11 times more than the world’s population. Consequently, cheap clothing floods the market, and eventually ends up like a “disposable item”.
◎ Textile industry is second major cause of pollution
Fast fashion started more than two decades ago. It has dramatically shortened traditional boutiques’ two seasons yearly cycle to 1-2 week seasonal cycle, making it possible to purchase new fashion clothes anytime. The average life-span of a piece of clothing was reduced by 50% between year 1992 and 2002. Since year 2000, many fast fashion brands opened up new stores, pushing the volume of clothing consumption to a new height globally. In 2002 alone, the total sales worldwide was one trillion USD. Sales doubled in 2014. On average, each individual purchased 60% more clothing yearly.
Tzu Chi recycling centres in Malacca collected about 230 tons of clothes in year 2019 alone. According to the statistics provided by SWCorp Malaysia, a government waste management body, from 2012 to 2018, the ratio of textile waste over total general waste, has risen from 2.8% to 6.3%. Currently, approximately 2,000 tons of textile waste go into the landfills daily. These figures are a clear sign of relatively low recycling rate for textile materials.
Second-hand clothes vendor, Chen Yan Yi has been in the business for more than 20 years in Malaysia. He said, 80% of used clothes donated to NGOs are usually sold to second-hand clothes vendors, who would grade the clothing by quality, weight them and sell to the third world countries. Rejects are sent to the landfills. In recent years, the second-hand clothes marketed to Kenya has reached 30 billion pieces. Kenya would sell unmarketable ones to Rwanda, Malawi and other underdeveloped countries, and the balance to the landfills.
Clothes is synthetic fibre and non-biodegradable. When this fibre is burnt, it generates obnoxious gas that can cause cancer. If buried underground, its petrochemical fibre contents such as polyester, nylon, and polypropylene fibre, would take 200 years to dissolve, and cause pollution to soil and underground water. Undoubtedly, textile industry has become the second major cause of pollution, after the petroleum industry.
With consumers’ new buying behaviour, today’s fashion quickly becomes tomorrow’s waste. Zhang Xiu Ye, a long-time volunteer handling second-hand clothing at Tzu Chi Ayer Keroh Recycling-cum-Education Centre, commented with a sigh, “More than 100 pieces of clothes are collected daily and about 10% of them are new.” To prevent unnecessary waste, she would carefully sort out the clothes every day for the recycling vendor, hoping to prolong their life-span.
◎ The hidden cost behind fast fashion
Nearly every stage of clothing production causes pollution. For example, cotton is the most commonly used natural fibre, but it requires plenty of water to grow. Assuming an individual drinks 2.5 litre of water daily, and cotton used to produce a T-shirt consumed about 2,700 litres of water, this is equivalent to three years of water supply for an individual.
Pollution begins from the raw material for cotton clothing. Cotton plantation made up about 2.4% of the worldwide farmland, but its global consumption of agro-chemicals is close to 10% and 25% for pesticides. Besides, there are various chemicals required in the process of bleaching, dyeing, washing and so on in producing a piece of clothes too. 35% of the microplastic pollutants in the ocean are emitted during the cleaning process of synthetic textiles. More than three trillion litres of fresh water are used every year for dyeing textiles, resulting in heavy metal toxic discharge into the river which will eventually flow into the sea. Such pollution will get into the soil through water circulation system, and into our food chain ultimately.
Tzu Chi volunteer Liu Jin Ying, who had been in the clothing production for 25 years, bears witness to the pollution caused by this industry. She said, “Many fabric dyeing factories of early days in Muar, were ordered by the authorities to stop operation for discharging liquid waste that caused severe pollution. Nowadays, the dyed fabrics are imported from third world countries. As the market in this industry is very competitive, the quality of fabrics is greatly compromised to reduce production cost.” Her hands were often stained with blue, red and other colours as she frequently touched the printed fabrics that had obnoxious smell. In the long run, her skin swell with rashes and developed allergic reaction that required medical treatment. Her health suffered greatly, so she decided to close her business in 2019.
The chain process of clothing production, from raw materials, fabrics manufacturing, fashion design, transportation and marketing worldwide, causes pollutions in many ways. For example, cotton is grown in India, clothing manufactured in China, while fabrics dyeing is done in Indonesia. On the average, a piece of clothing travels thousands of miles to reach the ultimate consumer, thus rendering fashion industry accountable for 10% of the global carbon footprint emissions.
If the textile and fashion industries continue growing in this manner, by 2050, they will account for 26% of the global carbon emissions in the world, causing the global climate 2℃ warmer. Every kilogramme of clothing produced uses up 0.6 kilogrammes of petroleum, 60 litres of water, and produces 1 kilogramme of waste, thus indirectly contributing to global warming problem.
◎ Sustainability and recycling start with everyone
We cannot avoid buying clothing, but we can change our buying habit, by understanding the production process of the clothing, and carefully consider our choices. In fact, there are many options. We can buy from second-hand-clothing shops, exchange with friends and relatives, make creative alteration to old clothing to prolong their life-span. Both Ayer Keroh Tzu Chi Recycling-cum-Education Centre, and Batu Berendam Tzu Chi Recycling Centre in Malacca set up a Pre-loved Goods Section to encourage the public, not only to donate used clothing, but also to buy second-hand clothing.
According to Tzu Chi volunteer Zhou Li Yun, majority of the second-hand clothing consumers are foreign workers, who buy and send them back to their hometown. In recent years, more locals, second-hand vendors and school teachers are visiting the centres to “hunt” for their respective quests.
Volunteer couple, Liang Qi Shun and Huang Ting Ting, collect some second-hand clothing from Ayer Keroh Recycling-cum-Education Centre weekly, to sell at their food stall. Qi Shun said, “We hope to find new owners to prolong the life-span of the used clothing.” Some public commented that they can save money by buying used clothes. This is particularly important amongst the lower and middle income groups. They can find attire for work, casual wear and even for festive occasions.
In recent years, environmental conservation and sustainability awareness is gradually on the rise. Enterprises are adopting a more eco-friendly production model, which aims to give the Earth breathing space. Taiwan DA.AI Technology Enterprise is a practitioner of such concept. Since the birth of DA.AI brand products in 2008, all raw materials used to make them came from the PET bottles collected and sorted out diligently by more than 200,000 Tzu Chi volunteers in Taiwan daily. These PET bottles are recycled to produce eco-friendly fabrics for making dresses, pants, children’s clothing, babies’ clothing, scarfs, face masks, blankets, socks and other eco-friendly goods, thereby maximizing the benefits of circular economy by recycling the limited natural resources repeatedly.
DA.AI products consume fewer resources and less energy compared to conventional means of production. Every product carries a “Product Biography” tag to give consumers the added values of understanding the source and production process of the product. Hopefully, the consumers would consider replacing their unusable old items with eco-friendly goods that are made from recycled materials.
Tzu Chi volunteer Wu Yi Rong is a supporter of DA.AI Technology products, who has not bought any new clothes for over four years. He stated, “Apart from buying DA.AI Technology’s clothing, pants, bags, socks, shoes and other products, I also purchase goods from Pre-loved Goods Section at Tzu Chi recycling centre.” He stressed that DA.AI Technology clothing is cooling and comfortable to wear, and it is a good way to protect the environment too. Second-hand clothes from Tzu Chi recycling centre is as good as new. Whenever he meets friends or customers, he would seize opportunity to introduce DA.AI attire on him and promote DA.AI Technology and environmental protection concept through buying reusable goods.
Do you always have the urge to fill up your closet with new clothing? Let us begin by reducing carbon footprint from its source. Buy second-hand clothing to prolong their life-span; change our buying habit, select eco-friendly textile products. Such paradigm shift will bring forth positive changes to the environment, while turning fast fashion into sustainable fashion industry.


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Horizon Forbidden West has been delayed to early 2022, sources tell Bloomberg's Jason Schreier.
Sony and developer Guerrilla Games has apparently decided to push back one of the year's biggest PlayStation exclusives. Sources say Horizon Forbidden West, the sequel to 2017's Horizon Zero Dawn, will no longer meet its 2021 release slate. The game is instead being delayed to early 2022, and it's possible the game will launch before Sony's fiscal year ends on March 31, 2022.
The sequel is a much more ambitious game and features major innovations over the original including free climbing, a grappling hook, and even a glider for open-world exploration. It will also fully leverage the PS5's capabilities with high-end visuals and instant loading times.
Horizon Forbidden West caught flak from gamers when it was announced as a cross-gen release on both PS4 and PS5. Sources say this was always part of the plan, and Sony expects 70% of this year's games earnings to come from PS4. Although PlayStation 4 console sales have significantly petered out, Sony is hesitant to turn its back on 114 million PS4 owners.
Sony will support the PS4 until at least 2023 alongside the PS5.
COVID-19 restrictions have wreaked havoc on many industries, namely the billion-dollar entertainment industry. Gaming in particular has been strongly affected as developers must coordinate game iteration at home instead of at offices, making communication much more strained. Game dev is already a complicated, messy process, and working from home has disrupted valuable workflows.


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Commenting on the release of GDP figures, which show that output in the economy fell by 0.7% in the three months to June, Business West managing director Phil Smith said;
"Continued contraction in the UK economy for the third quarter in a row was widely anticipated. Our latest business surveys and indicators show that business, both locally and nationally, are struggling on a number of fronts. However, the extent of the fall is much bigger than expected and is a matter for immediate concern.
Businesses on the ground tell us that it is demand and local spending which is in need of stimulation. Ministers cannot expect firms to grow if they fail to take a long-term approach to creating an enterprise-friendly environment. Strong leadership and imagination is what is needed at the top to steer Britain's recovery away from a double-dip recession. Government must go further on measures to promote infrastructure investment, address the ongoing issue of finance availability and commit to meaningful deregulation.
This said, we must remember that these growth figures are preliminary estimates, susceptible to revision at a later date. Business confidence is notoriously fickle and companies across the country will be looking towards the upturn benefits of a summer of celebrations, which have the potential to address the current fortunes of the economy."


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GoSmart Mobile ends double data promotion in February, customers won’t be able to keep promo data
T-Mobile’s prepaid brand GoSmart Mobile has recently updated the terms on their currently running double high speed data promotion by adding the date when the promotion will actually end. According to information on their website, double high speed data promotion that runs since November 1st, will end on February 1st, 2015.
This was a limited time offer anyway so ending it is not a strange thing but could be a concern for customers who did take advantage of it or were planning to do so. GoSmart says on its website that starting February 2nd, all their plans will be reverted to the previous high speed data allotments and that there will be no keeping the promotional data, no grandfathering:
“Starting February 2, 2015, all data plans will revert back to their full, original high-speed data allocation until the end of their existing 30-day rate plan cycle and in to the future.”
Its competitors, however, don’t think the same way. Sprint’s Boost Mobile has recently announced that its double high speed data promotion is permanent now while AT&T’s Cricket is running its own since September and doesn’t give any signs yet of discontinuing it. In addition, customers who sign up to Cricket’s double high speed data promotion (this applied to Boost as well but their promotional plans are permanent now) will be able to keep their improved plans as long as they keep their accounts active.
Users of Cricket ‘s five lines for $100 promotion also won’t be able to keep promotion indefinitely since from March 1, 2016, the $40 discount on the 5th eligible line will change to $30. Five lines for $100 promotion is good through January 2, 2015.
Source: Phone News


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Banned for half a century, cigarette adverts are staging a lucrative comeback - but with an electronic 'smoke'
Cigarette advertising has been banned on Britain’s TV screens for 50 years, but the sight of people puffing away in the commercial break may be about to make a shock comeback.
Electronic cigarettes – which deliver a dose of nicotine and even mimic smoke fumes, but without burning tobacco – are enjoying rapidly increasing sales, and London’s advertising agencies can sense an exciting new opportunity.
Traditional cigarette maker British American Tobacco – the world’s second-biggest producer and best known for its Dunhill, Pall Mall and Lucky Strike brands – has begun a search for a London agency to launch an e-cigarette called Vype.
Lighting up: E-lites' commercial features cuddly actor Mark Benton in place of Marlboro's iconic rugged cowboy
A spokesman for BAT said: ‘As part of our harm-reduction approach we have made no secret of the fact that we are looking at a number of different product opportunities, including e-cigarettes.
‘We have also made no secret of the fact the UK is one of the markets we believe may have potential for such a product.’
BAT’s chief financial officer, Nicandro Durante, has said tobacco alternatives could account for as much as 40 per cent of its revenues within 20 years. In December, the company bought the Manchester-based e-cigarette maker CN Creative, which will produce Vype.
The e-cigarette market is worth £1.3 billion globally, with the US and Britain two of the fastest-growing countries. But the expected boom in advertising will not be without controversy.
The products have already prompted alarm, with critics warning they will lead children to try the real thing. And although e-cigarettes do not involve inhaling carcinogenic smoke, they do contain nicotine, which is highly addictive.
In 2012 the Advertising Standards Authority ruled against one internet advert that claimed: ‘You can enjoy them safely anywhere you want.’ It ruled there was no clear evidence that e-cigarettes were without risk.
Martin Dockrell, director of research and policy at the charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) said: ‘Our very strong view is that this needs to be regulated properly. It is not clear how much nicotine they deliver. There are no special regulations covering their marketing at the moment.
‘So far the companies are quite small, but there are concerns about some of the bigger companies expressing interest, and they have much bigger resources and much bigger marketing budgets.’
E-Lites, which is based in the Midlands, aired commercials on ITV and Sky in January. It said its 30-second adverts, which feature Waterloo Road actor Mark Benton but do not show the product, will return to British television on World No Tobacco Day this Friday.
TV adverts cannot promote smoking or the use of tobacco products or share the name with a tobacco product.
Adverts that might be of interest to children must not refer to tobacco or smoking.
But there are no rules specifically to stop companies from advertising e-cigarettes, and the ASA’s Broadcast Advertising Code does not prohibit adverts from depicting cigarettes, only tobacco products from being promoted.
There are no age restrictions on the sales of e-cigarettes. But the ASA said that rules against even indirect promotion of smoking or a tobacco brand could limit e-cigarette advertising. ‘It is our view that the advertising of e-cigarettes on TV is likely to be severely restricted,’ it said.
It added: ‘Clearcast, the body that vets TV advertising before broadcast, has approved few ads in this category.
‘The whole issue is complicated. There are discussions in Government about whether e-cigarettes that contain nicotine should be licensed as medicines. We are waiting for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to come to a conclusion.’
If it decides to license e-cigarettes then makers will have to apply for authorisation to advertise.
In the meantime, e-cigarettes firms want to put fashionable and attractive people puffing away back on our TV screens and billboards.
E-Lites has its own powerboat and Formula 4 motor racing teams. Cara Kilbey of The Only Way Is Essex, TV presenter Lizzie Cundy, Brooke Kinsella of EastEnders and pop singer Lemar are among celebrities pictured with E-Lites on its Facebook page.
Meanwhile another e-cigarette maker, Gamucci, says it plans to launch a TV ad, which is currently being reviewed by Clearcast, later this year.
Umer Sheikh, co-founder of Gamucci, said: ‘There will be more creative advertising from e-cigarette companies because the product shares certain characteristics with cigarettes and you cannot be seen to promote smoking.
‘In the US, e-cigarette companies can advertise very freely, and show vapour being inhaled and blown out.
‘We think the ASA should look at the rules and understand that this is the 21st Century and this is not a tobacco product.’
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ALTON – The Fourth Annual Alton Restaurant Week will kick off on Friday, Jan. 16, and run for 10 food-filled, delicious days before ending Jan. 25.
A total of 16 locally-owned restaurants in the region will come together to prepare some of their best and favorite meals. Seafood, pepperloin steaks, barbecue, secret-recipe fried chicken, pizza, specialty pastas and more will highlight menus at local restaurants. Diners during restaurant week can expect fixed price meals with lunch at $10 and dinners for $25. There are no passes to buy, and no cards to punch.
Menus for participating restaurants and details on the event can be found at www.AltonRestaurantWeek.com.
The list of participating restaurants continues to expand each year. Newcomers to Restaurant Week this year include Reeta Marie’s Country Store in Brighton and the Fin Inn Restaurant in Grafton. Returning favorites also included in the extensive Restaurant Week menu of participants are: Aerie’s Riverview Winery, Amarillo Tex’s Steakhouse, Bluff City Grill, Bossanova Restaurant & Lounge, Carver’s Southern Style BBQ, Castelli’s at 255, Franco’s at the Holiday Inn, Gentelin’s on Broadway, Grafton Winery & Brewhaus, Johnson’s Corner, My Just Desserts, Outfitters Grill, State Street Market and Tony’s Restaurant.
“So many of the great rivers region restaurants offer diner delights and this week offers a great opportunity to celebrate the tastes of the region with residents and visitors alike,” said Brett Stawar, president and CEO of the Alton Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Each year, this event grows to include more locally owned and operated restaurants. We have also seen a surge in visitors and residents enjoying meals at the participating restaurants which is a nice barometer of the impact of the event.”
Once again this year will be a social contest. If you share and post a picture of your restaurant week dish on Facebook Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #AltonRW2015, you will be entered into a drawing to win a gift certificate to one of the participating restaurants. The Alton Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau will also be offering a free commemorative, souvenir Restaurant Week glass for anyone who stops by the Alton Visitor Center with a receipt from one of the participating restaurants. For rules and more information on the social contest and the free glass giveaway go to www.AltonRestaurantWeek.com.
The event has been made possible with the help of the following sponsors: Alton Regional Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Robert “Chick” Fritz Distributing.
Call the Alton Regional Convention & Visitors Bureau at 1-800-258-6645.


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Toilet Paper Shortages in Japan to Be Resolved in A Week: Industry Head
Tokyo, March 23 (Jiji Press)--Toilet and tissue paper shortages in Japan amid the spread of the new coronavirus are expected to be resolved in about a week, industry leader Susumu Yajima said Monday.
There are abundant stocks and factories are running at full capacity, Yajima, chairman of the Japan Paper Association, told a press conference.
"We are working very hard to deliver as much as possible to stores," said Yajima, also chairman of Oji Holdings Corp. <3861>.
He pointed out that false rumors had spread and caused the shortages. One such rumor was that materials for toilet paper are used to make face masks.
Citing the fact that demand jumped to five times the normal levels because of such false information, Yajima said people should exercise the minimum ethics expected of Japanese.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]


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Christmas Lights Switch-on
You are here: Home
/ Christmas Lights Switch-on
09 Nov 2011
Although we have only just celebrated Halloween and Bonfire Night, Christmas is getting closer.
Next Thursday (17 November) at 4.30pm in All Saints' Square it is the switch-on of Rotherham Town Centre's Christmas lights.
There will be fairground rides, a Santa’s Grotto and a gift market. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas in Rotherham without this annual festive spectacle.


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Trust Rachel Zoe to be casually strutting around Beverly Hills in a brand spanking new Missoni cardigan from the pre-fall 2012 collection!


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Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution
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Royal Mail Hatfield distribution centre jobs 'at risk'
About 135 jobs are at risk as Royal Mail looks to close one of its centres in Hertfordshire, the BBC understands.
The firm said workers at its Hatfield distribution centre were being consulted on changes, as it looked to "modernise its operations".
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said Royal Mail planned to shut its business mail site, but its vehicle operating centre would be unaffected.
A consultation on the closure is due to last about six months.
Royal Mail has not confirmed whether it will shut the distribution depot but in a statement said it was planning to reduce the number of bases it works from across the country.
It said 135 workers are employed at its distribution centre and a further 124 at its vehicle operating centre.
A Royal Mail spokesman said: "Faced with increasing parcel volumes and declining letter volumes, Royal Mail must constantly review how it manages its operations.
"The review is aimed at allowing us to deliver the most efficient, consistent and reliable service to Royal Mail customers and help secure long-term employment and job security.
"Our intention is to make changes without compulsory redundancies."
Tom Walker, Northern Home Counties branch secretary for the CWU, said the union thought the closure was "premature" and there were "alternative opportunities" Royal Mail should consider before deciding to close the depot.


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Hitman Absolution: Professional Edition has been announced by Square Enix.
The Special Edition includes an art book, DLC, and a making of documentary. It will be packaged in a special clamshell box.
Available on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, the Professional Edition's hard back Art Book contains a foreword from Game Director Tore Blystad. The DLC, meanwhile, grants users access to additional Agency weapons.
The Agency weapons pack contains an Agency Jagd P22G pistol, an Agency HX UMP SMG and the Agency SPS 12 semi-automatic shotgun.
Described as the "most ambitious game in the series yet", Hitman Absolution features a "living and breathing world, where every moment can become a story".
Officially unveiled at last year's E3, the game will include new gameplay features, improved enemy intelligence and a new 'Instinct' mode that will help players blend into certain roles.
IO Interactive told Digital Spy that Hitman Absolution will be a "more personal story" than previous games.
A prequel novel titled Hitman: Damnation will be released alongside the game, penned by former James Bond author Raymond Benson.
Hitman Absolution: Professional Edition is available to pre-order now. The game launches later this year.
Watch a trailer for Hitman Absolution below:


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App Makers Chase an Elusive Dream
There has always been an income-inequality problem in the world of software development. Now, a new study from Sensor Tower illuminates just how big that divide has become.
Like most gold rushes, the app-development frenzy started with a good slogan. Steve Jobs knew the first iPhone was revolutionary because it elegantly replaced the ubiquitous iPod and the most important elements of a BlackBerry.
By the time the “there’s an app for that” campaign reached office water coolers, the word was out: Apps just might be something really big.
They were shape-shifting, capable of turning iPhones into personalized radios, lens-blurring cameras and a place to catch up with friends. When Facebook (FB) paid $1 billion for Instagram, a photo-sharing app with just 13 employees, developers began sprinting westward to plant their own stake in the app economy. So we got a lot of new apps. In fact, the App Store still gets more than one thousand new apps every day in a dizzying array of categories.
Facebook and Alphabet (GOOG), major makers of free applications, dominate app downloads in the categories of the most popular apps and the apps people spend the most time on. What’s interesting is the top 1% of developers making pay-to-play apps — firms behind software titles like Clash of Clans, Spotify, Netflix and HBO Go — account for 94% of all App Store revenues.
To put these numbers into perspective, the App Store collected $1.43 billion in revenue in Q1. Of that number, 623 developers generated $1.34 billion in sales, meaning just $85.8 million was divided among the remaining 61,677 software developers. At an average of about $21,000, that’s not a lot left to pay software engineers and run a business. The truth is, most software developers are scraping by.
Discoverability and the forces of friction are against them. Apple (AAPL) has been criticized by software publishers because it’s simply too hard to find new applications in its voluminous App Store. It is making strides to change the way people find apps, but the issue of process is more difficult. In the App Store, visitors must find the app, download it, enter credentials or set up an account and then interact. All of that friction between them and the software developer creates a disincentive and explains why the average iPhone owner downloads zero new applications per month.
For developers, there is some hope, though. At its I/O developer conference May 18, Google announced Instant Apps. The idea is applications get a deep link in the Google Search algorithm in addition to a spot in the Google Play Store. Choosing that link in Google Search provides instant access to the pertinent information indexed by the software application. All credentials and payment information are stored in the user’s Google login or Android Pay accounts, so that part is seamless.
The result is all of the functionality of the full application without a lengthy download and better discoverability. In theory, this rich experience puts smaller software developers on a level footing with their larger competitors. Unfortunately, Instant Apps are available to Android devices only.
Smartphones were game-changing devices enriched by the ability to download shape-shifting software applications. The promise of great riches spawned many thousands of new developers and applications. Yet real winners have been few and that is unlikely to change. The richest developers are getting richer while the rest chase a dream that remains elusive.
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YOUR GATEWAY TO THE WORLD OF CUSTOMER LOYALTY
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All signs point to 2022 as being a critical year for fuel and convenience retailers to strengthen their relationships with consumers. To accomplish this, you’ll need to leverage a variety of new and emerging consumer engagement technologies....Read More
The industry has seen a growing opportunity for pump-to-store conversion where c-store locations also sell fuel. This has especially been the case during the last few years as fuel demand has fluctuated.Consumers increasingly plan their shopping...Read More
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Diamond Foods Inc. has named Steven Neil to the newly-created position of executive vice president, chief financial and administrative officer for the snack products company.
Neil -- a senior executive for the past decade, including most recently as executive vice president and chief financial officer of The Cooper Companies Inc. -- will report to Diamond Foods president and chief executive officer Michael Mendes.
Neil, who has been on Diamond Foods' board and audit committee since July 2005, will replace Seth Halio, who resigned as chief financial officer Tuesday. Neil's new positions starts March 1.
Neil "brings a broad base of financial expertise as well as the business acumen of a successful executive to Diamond," Mendes said in a news release.
Shares of Stockton-based Diamond (Nasdaq: DMND) remained unchanged at $19.25 in trading Tuesday.


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The importance of well planned stores and physical meeting places
Black Friday and Christmas are approaching—it's the time of year when many people gather in stores and other physical meeting places. To be able to handle this, it's important to understand why people are attracted to these places and to plan and prepare for this, says researcher Pernille K Andersson at CTF, Service Research Center at Karlstad University. A pandemic doesn't change people's needs or behaviors.
Since the start of the pandemic, people have been urged to use social distancing. Many people have lived completely isolated from their surroundings when working at home, shopping online and avoiding going to the gym. An increasing number of people are feeling lonely and isolated.
Important for people's well-being
"Physical meeting places such as stores, restaurants and gyms are places where people can shop, eat and exercise. But they're also places where people can meet and socialize—make new contacts, find new friends or love—and are of great importance to people's well-being," says Pernille K Andersson, researcher and senior lecturer in psychology at CTF.
"In general, people are social and look for different ways to socialize with other people. This may be an explanation to why it's so difficult to reduce the spread of infection, People are drawn to physical places, despite restrictions, as the need for human contact is stronger than the fear of being infected or infecting others."
Plan for safe physical meeting places
She means that it's important for retailers, service providers and other actors connected to physical meeting places to have an understanding of this, and to plan and prepare for this.
"The need for human contact will not decrease due to a pandemic, on the contrary. Therefore, it's important to be able to handle physical distancing and increased demands on hygiene and safety so that visitors don't risk being infected or infecting others when visiting stores and other physical meeting places," says Andersson.
Focus on other values
She urges retailers and other actors to consider offering other values to their customers this year, instead of, for example, focusing on attracting customers to stores with reduced prices.
"Give the customers an opportunity to feel that they participating in a social context, even if they aren't in the physical place. Retailers could, for example, let customers see, interact and shop together in a virtual store. In these times, digital tools are important, it's just a matter of being creative and understanding the customer's needs and trying to adapt services based on them," says Andersson.
Provided by Karlstad University


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The developer of Homeworld and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, Relic Entertainment, is now working on a real-time strategy title set in World War II's European theater. According to the studio's owner, THQ, the new title, Company of Heroes, will be released for PCs sometime in 2006.
Last fall, THQ purchased the Canadian developer for just over $10 million. According to a statement today, the upcoming Relic title will follow the exploits of Able company as they battle across Europe.
The game will rely on Relic's proprietary next-generation Essence engine, which will be paired with the Havok physics engine. The game will be shown in THQ's E3 booth next May.


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The truth about Neuro-chip: Busting the myth with facts
Not too long ago Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla unveiled the master plan of planting the coin-sized computer chip into a human brain. However, it was in the later part of the last year that he actually unveiled a pig called Gertrude with a chip in her brain. By doing so, Elon Musk demonstrated his ambitious plan to create a working brain-to-machine interface.
The foundations of this plan were laid down in 2016 with the incorporation of Neuralink. Last year, the company offered an insight into the technology it was developing. According to Elon Musk, the chip is capable of recording brain activity and stimulating it. The start-up has already applied to launch human trails with the Fitbit consisting of tiny wires. The famous entrepreneur is optimistic of using the technology for people with neural conditions to control phones or computers with their minds.
According to Musk, the technology could enable human symbiosis with artificial intelligence. He also boasted that the technology has attained some success, as it got a monkey to control a computer with its brain. The interface is expected to help cure conditions such as dementia, Parkinson’s, etc. The Neuralink’s price will gradually drop to a few thousand dollars, although initially it would be quite expensive, Musk stated.
It is no secret that a lot of work needs to be done, as reiterated by Elon Musk himself. However, the potential of this technology could be limitless, claims the entrepreneur. The device comes with an all-day battery life and could be connected directly to a wearer’s smartphone, he claims. Some of the experts though believe that such a technology would be justified if used for clinical reasons, but the same would be unethical if a healthy person uses it without a medical condition.
However, other experts are of the opinion that the chip is comparable to the natural processes that emerge through evolution. While as, the remaining reiterate that the brain link-up may get the people excited, but there’s plenty of potential non-invasive solutions to help people with conditions Neuralink aims to treat or is expected to treat.
Neuralink is currently looking to recruit scientists to make the device scalable, but there is no deadline to make the device commercially available.
You may also like this blog: FACIAL RECOGNITION: THE FUTURE LIES IN TECHNOLOGY’S EDUCATION


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Two University of Cambridge computer security researchers plan to describe on Monday an ingenious and inexpensive attack that employs a $30 camera flashgun and a microscope to extract secret information contained in widely used smart cards.
The newly discovered vulnerability is reason for alarm, the researchers said, because it could make it cost-effective for a criminal to steal information from the cards.
Smart cards are used for dozens of different applications, including electronic identity protection, credit and debit cards and cellular phone payment and identity systems.
The Cambridge researchers said they had discussed their discovery with a number of card manufacturers, and several had acknowledged the vulnerability. One company reported that its security testing teams had already considered types of attacks similar to the one mounted by the Cambridge team and that they believed their products were not vulnerable.
The researchers said they had also proposed a potential design change to the companies that would protect against the attack.
''This vulnerability may pose a big problem for the industry,'' they wrote in their paper, ''Optical Fault Induction Attacks.'' The researchers argued the industry would need to add countermeasures to the cards to increase their security.
The Cambridge group's discovery is one of two new smart card attacks that will be introduced Monday evening in Oakland, Calif., at an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers symposium on security and privacy.
A team of researchers from I.B.M.'s Thomas J. Watson Laboratory in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., said they would present a report at the conference based on their discovery of a different vulnerability in subscriber identification module, or S.I.M., cards. These are used in the type of digital cellphone known as G.S.M., widely used in Europe and to a lesser extent here.
The vulnerability would make it possible for a criminal to find the secret information stored in the card, steal the user's cellphone identity and make free phone calls.
Smart cards are credit-card-like devices containing a microprocessor chip and a small amount of computer memory for storing bits of electronic data that represent money or other information that can be used to ensure identity, like a code or a digitized retina scan or fingerprint.
More widely used in Europe than in the United States, the cards have long been promoted as the key to a cashless society as well as for identity and authorization applications. Some countries have begun using them for national identity cards, and they have recently been discussed as a way of confirming travelers' identities to speed airport security.
The Pentagon has armed soldiers with smart cards for online identity and physical access, and the cards are in use in the United States in commercial services like the American Express Blue credit card and the Providian Smart Visa Card. Both cards are offered by their providers as a convenient and safe way to make Internet purchases, although their actual use for those purposes so far has been limited.
Some of the information stored in the card is in the form of a number composed of ones and zeros that cryptographers refer to as a ''private key.'' That key is part of a two-key system that is used to encode and decode information. The security of such systems is compromised if the private key is revealed.
Typically, after the card holder authenticates the card by supplying a pin number, the private key will then be used to encrypt any sort of transaction using the card. For example, the card might be used to authorize a purchase or a transfer of funds, make an e-mail message private, log on to a computer network or enter a building.
The researchers from Britain, Sergei Skorobogatov and Ross Anderson, who are based at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, discovered the flaw after Mr. Skorobogatov found that he could interrupt the operation of the smart card's microprocessor simply by exposing it to an electronic camera flashbulb.
They were able to expose the circuit to the light by scraping most of the protective coating from the surface of the microprocessor circuit that is embedded in each smart card.
With more study, the researchers were able to focus the flash on individual transistors within the chip by beaming the flash through a standard laboratory microscope.
''We used duct tape to fix the photoflash lamp on the video port of a Wentworth Labs MP-901 manual probing station,'' they wrote in their paper.
By sequentially changing the values of the transistors used to store information, they were able to ''reverse engineer'' the memory address map, allowing them to extract the secret information contained in the smart card.
Mr. Skorobogatov is a Russian emigrant who was once employed in the former Soviet Union's nuclear weapons program, where his job was to maintain bombs.
Mr. Anderson is a well-known computer security researcher whose work in both computer security and cryptography is widely recognized.
The researchers said they had discussed their findings with a number of companies that had acknowledged the vulnerability. However, at least one manufacturer who had read the paper said it believed its products were not vulnerable to the attack.
''This is a paper for an academic conference,'' said Alex Giakoumis, director of product lines for the Atmel Corporation, a San Jose, Calif.-based maker of smart cards. ''We've already looked at this area.''
He said his company had built defensive measures into its products that would make them invulnerable to such an attack. However, he said he was unwilling to be specific about the nature of the security system, because such information would be valuable to someone who was attempting to break the security of the Atmel smart cards.
The I.B.M. paper, which is titled ''Partitioning Attacks: Or How to Rapidly Clone Some G.S.M. Cards,'' was prepared by Josyula R. Rao, Pankaj Rohatgi, Helmut Scherzer and Stefan Tinguely.
The researchers reported that they had dramatically shortened the time needed to steal secret information from today's G.S.M. cellphones.
Their new approach can seize the information within minutes, they said, making it a much more useful method than either breaking the cryptographic algorithms used by the card or by intrusive attacks such as the Cambridge approach. The I.B.M. researchers' report also offers advice to the smart card industry on how to protect against vulnerabilities.


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CAM Business Solutions picks up the ball when SENSIS Agency’s IT resource drops it Panic sets in. These days physically moving office locations is a massive endeavor. So, when Dove Communications, a phone and cabling vendor, called us to help get their client out of an IT mess, we understood the impact of the problem…
People easily get riled up over online security. With a quick Google search, you can find dozens of articles warning about Trojans, viruses and other security threats. But how many of them do you actually need to worry about? Really, it all comes down to threats that cause massive damage and affect your unique technology…
Couple of months back, Instagram had developed its latest collage app called ‘Layout’. While Instagram is not the first one to plunge into the collage business, this is a great opportunity to see an overflow of interesting and new collages created by users and brands. In their blog, Instagram has described Layout as an application..
Cortana, Microsoft’s assistant app in Windows 10, is getting even more nosey than before. We’re told Redmond will scan your email, in order to remind you to keep your commitments. Sounds benign — helpful, even. But some are worrying that it’s just one more privacy invasion from the Pacific Northwest. Even though you can turn it off,..
Malvertisers are once again abusing ad technology platform AdSpirit and exposing visitors of the MSN homepage to malware. These attacks appeared to have been primarily focused on Germans users via an ad for Lidl, one of the Germany’s leading supermarkets. This is not the first time we have caught malvertising on MSN or via AdSpirit…
Cloud computing is a sea change in the way companies use technology; it’s as inevitable and significant as the shift from steam power to electricity on the factory floor. Because criticisms of the cloud have gotten a lot of hype, however, many companies are hesitant to explore it. In this article McAfee, a principal research..
We talk a lot about threats to data security on this blog, and personal experience has probably acquainted you with everything from Trojan Horses to phishing. Here’s a particularly sneaky threat that’s becoming more and more common: fake patches.
THIS WEEK, HACKERS won a million dollar bounty for discovering a long-sought iOS zero-day. Federal lawmakers introduced the Stingray Privacy Act, a new bill that would require state and local lawmakers to get a warrant before using the invasive surveillance devices. The world got its first look at the full text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership..
Macs can get Ransomware, the devilish family of malware that locks down a victim’s files until he or she coughs up a hefty bounty. Last week, a Brazilian security researcher produced a proof-of-concept for what appears to be the first ransomware to target Mac operating systems (Mac OS X). On Monday, cybersecurity company Symantec verified..
Google Chrome will end support for Windows XP, Windows Vista, and older versions of Mac OS X in the spring.


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Shares in Twitter fell on Monday after Elon Musk announced he was pulling out of a $44bn (£36bn) deal to buy the social media platform.
Mr Musk backed away after claiming Twitter failed to provide enough information on the number of spam and fake accounts on the site.
Twitter plans to take legal action to make the deal go ahead and has hired a top US law firm.
Mr Musk tweeted saying Twitter would need to “disclose bot info” in court.
The multi-billionaire then tweeted a picture showing American actor and martial artist Chuck Norris at a chessboard, with a follow up post saying “Chuckmate”.
Twitter’s share price stood at about $32.64 as Monday trading closed – falling further below the $54.20-a-share takeover price agreed by Mr Musk and Twitter’s board in April.
It is the first time investors have been able to react to Mr Musk announcement on Friday that he wanted to pull out of the deal.
Mr Musk – who is also the boss of electric car firm Tesla – announced plans to buy Twitter in April, but the deal was put on hold a month later due a row over the number of fake accounts on the platform.
The original merger agreement includes a $1bn (£830m) break-up fee, but instead of pushing for Mr Musk to pay the sum, Twitter wants the businessman to compete the deal. “The Twitter board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr Musk,” its chairman Bret Taylor wrote in a tweet.
Twitter has hired New York’s Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, which is one of the world’s leading corporate law firms.
John Coffee, a Colombia Law School professor and a former adviser to the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, told the BBC that Mr Musk didn’t have a “great legal argument”.
“It’ll be a big battle, but I would predict it’ll be quietly settled,” he said. “I think Mr Musk doesn’t expect to come out with a victory. I expect that he’s hoping that he can knock another 10 or 20 billion off the price he agreed to pay.”
When he first agreed a deal, Mr Musk said he wanted to make the site better by “defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans”. Twitter has long had an issue with automated, so-called “bots” being used to relentlessly post unhelpful or misleading content.
The businessman had asked for evidence to back the company’s assertion that spam and bot accounts make up less than 5% of its total users. Mr Musk believes that spam or bot accounts could make up to 20% or more of users.
After Mr Musk first agreed to buy Twitter in April, shares in his electric car firm Tesla fell by around 20%. Mr Musk then sold roughly $8.5bn (£6.8bn) worth of shares in Tesla, leading to speculation that the money raised would help to finance the deal.
Ann Lipton, a litigator who has handled class actions involving some of the world’s largest companies, said Mr Musk “kind of got cold feet” when stock markets turned and it “looked like his wealth was impacted when Tesla’s stock price dropped as well”.
“Now he’s looking for an out but merger agreements are very hard to get out of,” she added. “Even if there was a false representation as Musk claims, he claims that Twitter falsely represented the amount of spam on the platform. You can’t get out of the deal just for that.”
When the news first broke that Elon Musk had put in an offer to buy Twitter, a fellow journalist messaged me: “Twenty quid that it never happens”.
Well, I’m neither £20 up nor down yet but this deal is quite clearly not going according to plan.
Did Mr Musk make a hasty and expensive mistake in pursuing the social network so aggressively and so fast? Perhaps he didn’t count on his other interests – notably the electric car firm Tesla – being impacted by the purchase. Its shares slid after it emerged that he was using his own shares as an asset to fund the deal.
His obsession with bots and spam is maybe not the quick fix for the social network that he thought it could be if Twitter’s figures are to be trusted. And if they’re not, that on its own isn’t a strong enough legal reason for the deal to fall apart. It’s not like it has demonstrably shattered Twitter’s revenue as things stand.
Twitter on its part seems to think it can still force the hand of the world’s richest man, which is remarkable considering its initial reluctance to having Mr Musk at its helm.
Neither party wants to pay the $1bn termination fee, small change as that may sound for a multi-billionaire.
What we’ll probably see next is a revised, lower offer – and Musk continuing to mock Twitter using its own platform to tweet memes about it to his 100 million followers. Awkward.
As well as leading Tesla, Mr Musk is the founder of rocket company SpaceX. A self-described “free speech absolutist”, he had pledged to loosen Twitter’s content moderation rules once the company was under his ownership.
He has long criticised Twitter’s ban of some accounts, like that of former US President Donald Trump.
Mr Musk has also called for more transparency over how the platform presents tweets to users, a system that currently allows some to be promoted and given wider audiences.


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Friday, 27th February 2009
In Japan Entertainment News, Events In Japan,
Race sponsor creates virtual marathon
Budding athletes who failed in their bid to run in this year's Tokyo Marathon can take part in a much less physically demanding way, it has emerged.
While more than a quarter of a million people applied to run in this year's event, just 35,000 people were successful.
However, one of the marathon's sponsors, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, has launched an online game in which users can create their own avatar and take part in a virtual version of the race.
Users can choose from a selection of 74 bodies, 69 faces and different types of sportswear.
Online features allow runners to exchange shouts and motivational yells with each other, reports Asiajin.com.
Runners will be able to take in all of the sites of the Japanese capital, including the Kaminarimon Gate and the Tokyo Tower.
The real Tokyo Marathon takes place on March 22nd and is followed by the Tokyo International Women's Marathon in autumn.
Related news stories:
Japan could host start of Giro d'Italia 2018 cycle race (12th May 2016)
Toyota plots Le Mans victory in hybrid race car (26th January 2012)


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First there was Black Friday, then Cyber Monday. On November 27th comes Small Business Saturday, a day to support the local businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and preserve neighborhoods around the country. Small Business Saturday is a national movement to drive shoppers to local merchants across the U.S.
Cedar Falls Community Main Street joins the national movement spearheaded by American Express OPEN, the company’s division dedicated to U.S. small businesses, who is partnering with more than a dozen small business advocate groups. Our Main Street neighborhood recognizes the importance of small businesses in Cedar Falls, the revenue they generate and the character they instill in local neighborhoods.
We are particularly excited to be showcased in this national event that supports small local businesses and will be holding special events on Saturday, November 27th beginning at 11am to mark the occasion.
The district will kick-off Small Business SaturdaySM beginning with a short ceremony at 11:00am at 4th and Main outside Santa’s Main Street. The local performing group, The Doo-waps, will be providing music, the Mayor will read a proclamation declaring Saturday, November 27, 2010 as Small Business Saturday, and Santa along with his helpers will have gifts ready. There will be (10) $100 gift cards from American Express given away to members of the crowd, as well (10) $25 Downtown Gift Certificates, and one grand prize of a $250 Downtown Gift Certificate. If you’re in the crowd that morning, you may be one of the lucky recipients.
Other featured Main Streets are Roslindale Village in Boston, MA, and Port Townsend, WA.


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The wait is almost over. Since Team Taco announced plans to open shop, the Springfield community has been keeping a watchful eye on its future home: the ruby red building at 1454 E. Cherry. On August 6, the taco joint will officially be open for business.
"We hope to bring our enthusiasm for what we are doing at Team Taco and give people a chance to join in on the fun," says Doug Riddle, who co-owns the business with Brent Sonnemaker, Cary Harris and Daniel Stern.
Team Taco has been making its rounds around Springfield over the past year by hosting pop ups and catering events. According to a press release, Team Taco will serve some of the same previewed tacos, but the menu will also feature a weekly rotating taco, nacho plates, rice bowls, guacamole and queso.
The owners also plan on offering a limited, agave-focused spirit and cocktail menu that will feature classic drinks like Margaritas, as well as twists on old favorites, like a Mezcal Mule. Team Taco will also serve beer, wine, cider and non-alcoholic drinks.
Team Taco, 1454 East Cherry St., Springfield, Missouri, facebook.com/teamtacosgf